Home
by NikkiB1973
Summary: Bella returns to visit Charlie after being away for a whole year. She brings a surprise with her that will change the lives of the Black family forever. Set a year after the wedding in BD AU
1. Chapter 1

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-this story is co-authored by Augustdarkstar.**_

Prologue:

Bella parked her rental car behind Charlie's police cruiser and switched off the engine. She made no attempt to get out of the car, just sat back and stared at the house in which she had lived with her father during the most intense and dramatic years of her young life. Nothing seemed to have changed in the twelve months she had been gone, the same curtains still hung at the windows, her father still hadn't got round to touching up the chipped paintwork and the front lawn was overgrown, a sign that Charlie had not been spending much time at home since she left.

A cry from the back seat made her turn her head; Bella glanced down at her son, he was waking up now that the car was no longer moving. "Hey sleepyhead." She cooed as she finally made a move to get out of the car. Bella opened the rear door of the rental car and carefully lifted her son out of his car seat. He was so light in her arms, he was small for a five month old, having been born premature. He was slowly gaining weight though and, as soon as Bella had felt that he was fit enough to travel, she had brought him back to Forks for his first official visit with his grandfather.

Charlie had travelled to Jacksonville to visit them both just after her son's birth and he had stayed for two weeks while she recovered. It had been awkward for him though having to see how happy his ex-wife, Renee was in her new life and when he returned back home he had thrown himself back into work.

Bella rocked her son in her arms as she walked up the steps to the house and knocked lightly on the front door. It took a few moments before it was answered and when the door began to open she put on a bright smile, ready to greet her father. It dropped from her face instantly when she saw it was Billy Black who had opened the door and not Charlie. His dark eyes opened wide in shock when he saw her standing there.

"Bella? Is that you? I don't understand." His voice faltered as he spoke.

Bella's son let out another little cry and she tore her eyes away from Billy to gently whisper to him. "Hush Ethan, it's okay."

Billy's eyes travelled to the baby that Bella was cradling in her arms and then back to her. "Whose baby is this?" He asked in confusion, still trying to come to terms with the fact that the girl that everyone thought was dead was now standing alive in front of him, holding a baby.

Bella glanced at him and sighed. "He's mine. His name is Ethan."

"Yours? But that's impossible." Billy shook his head to clear it. "A cold one cannot father a child. Did you adopt him?"

Bella managed to quieten Ethan down. "No, he is my natural born son." She said defiantly, irritated by his questions. "Where is my father?"

"Charlie has been delayed at work. He asked me to wait at the house, he told me he was expecting a visitor, but did not tell me it was you. Never in a million years. Is your husband with you?"

"I am no longer married. Look can I please come in. Ethan is due for a feed." Bella said bluntly.

Billy nodded, moving his chair aside so that she could enter the house. Bella swept past him into the living room and sat down on the sofa. Billy followed after her, still not able to comprehend that she was really there. Bella was uncomfortable under his intense scrutiny, she wanted him to leave. He still hadn't got a look at Ethan properly, once he did there would be no hiding from the truth. It would be plain as day. She was livid at her father for allowing this to happen and a part of her guessed that he had brought Billy here deliberately so that he would find out. When Charlie finally made his entrance she was going to have words.

"So you and..." Billy hesitated for a moment as Bella rocked Ethan in her arms. "Cullen are no longer married. Did you cheat on him with another man?"

Bella's eyes flashed fire as she glared at Billy. "You could say that." She said sarcastically. "Although he was quite willing to bring Ethan up as his own. Edward was always too forgiving."

Billy grimaced. "If you say so. You made the right choice, a human child cannot be brought up in a house full of vampires."

"Quite." Bella snapped. "Now if you don't mind I need to..." She stopped speaking as she heard Billy gasp. Her eyes flicked down to her son, Ethan had raised his arms above the blanket, exposing his skin colour to Billy for the first time. She shut her eyes in despair.

"Who is the father of this child?" Billy demanded as he rolled his chair over to the sofa. He leaned over and got his first good look at Bella's son. Ethan stared up at him with eyes the exact shade of his own, his full lips opened in a yawn. Ethan's skin was the same tan colour as Billy's, along with the silky black hair that adorned his head.

Bella sighed and sat back on the sofa. "You know who his father is." She said simply.

Billy raised his eyes to meet hers. "Jacob? My son is the father? But when...I don't understand."

"Look I'm sorry this has all come as a shock. No one was ever meant to know. I came here for a short visit with my dad like I promised him." Bella stroked the soft hair on her son's head.

"Charlie knew all about this?" Billy questioned, his anger beginning to build up. "And he kept this from me?"

"Will you please stop shouting?" Bella retorted as Ethan began to get upset at the raised voices. She rocked him again. "The only person who knew was my mom. She was the one who took it upon herself to tell my dad when I gave birth earlier then I expected."

"You have been in Jacksonville this whole time?" Billy asked her, just about managing to keep his temper under control.

"I had nowhere else to go after I left Edward."

"You could have come straight home and told my son the truth. Why would you keep something like this from him?" Billy just couldn't understand her reasoning.

Bella clammed up. She held Ethan tight to her chest and avoided Billy's gaze. "I would like to be alone now if you don't mind."

Billy shook his head. "On no, Bella Swan you have some explaining to do. I am going to call my son right now and get him down here."

Bella shook her head vehemently. "No Billy, please don't."

"He has a right to know." Billy would not be swayed.

"Does he?" Bella said, her voice broke as a tear rolled down her face. "Think about it Billy. Jake is going to imprint one day, right? It's not going to be fair on him or his...his imprint if he learns that he has a son already. I have already put Jake through so much, let him move forward in his life in peace." She begged.

Billy paused. "Is that why you never told him? You feared he would imprint?"

Bella sighed. "It's a certainty, Billy. You know that."

"I don't want to know all the details, Bella. Jake was absolutely devastated when you married Edward and left. I had no idea that you had both been together in that way. Did your fear of imprinting make you go ahead with your marriage?" Billy asked her, his voice soft.

Bella avoided his eyes as she looked at her son, love shining in her brown eyes. She stroked Ethan's chubby cheeks as he slept. "I didn't know I was pregnant until we reached our honeymoon destination. I had been feeling a little off colour...then I got sick." Her voice tailed off. "When it was confirmed, Edward brought me straight home. He was upset, I know he was, but he forgave me anyway. Like I said, he wanted to adopt Ethan as his own, but I couldn't raise a child within a house full of vampires. It would be too risky. So I left and went to my mom's."

"You didn't answer my question, Bella. Did you leave my son behind because you were scared that he would imprint?" Billy asked her again.

"Yes," Bella breathed the word and Billy had to strain his ears to hear her response.

There was silence for a moment as they both gazed at Ethan as he slept. "He looks like Sarah you know." Billy finally spoke.

"I thought that too when he was born." Bella confessed, a slight smile tugging at her lips. "If he had been a girl I would have used her name."

Billy wiped at his eyes. "Thank you." He said huskily. "Can I hold him?"

Bella nodded. She carefully handed Ethan over to Billy, who held him expertly in his arms. "My first grandchild." He said proudly.

Bella watched him for a moment, regret over keeping her son a secret weighing heavy on her mind. Seeing Billy looking so proud made her doubt her decision. It had seemed the only option at the time. "I'll be here for a week. You are welcome to come see him at any time." She found herself offering.

Billy glanced up at her. "What about Jake, Bella? He deserves to know."

She shook her head. "No. It's not fair on him. He's moved on with his life."

Billy frowned. "You don't know what he has been..."

Bella shook her head. "Please I just can't. If you tell him I will be forced to leave right now."

Billy gaze at his grandson sadly. He didn't want to lose the chance to get to know him. Maybe if he agreed for now, he could hopefully persuade her over the next few days to let him tell Jacob. "Okay, Bella. If that is what it takes to get to see Ethan."

"Thank you. I'm sorry Billy, it's for the best." Bella gave him a relieved smile. "Will you be alright with him while I get his bag out of the car?"

Billy nodded. "Of course." He watched Bella leave the house and then turned his wise eyes back onto Ethan; still marvelling just how much like Sarah he looked. "Don't worry, Ethan. I will make sure your daddy gets to see you." He whispered.

Ethan opened his eyes briefly and smiled before closing them again as if agreeing to every word he said.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-this story is co-authored by Augustdarkstar. Thank you so much for the lovely reviews. Nikki :)**_

**Part One-The Past**

_Twelve months earlier;_

Jacob stared at the wedding invitation, the fine script blurring in front of his eyes. His whole body was shaking with anger. Billy looked at him in concern. "It's official now son, you have to let it go."

"Let it go." Jacob's eyes were blazing. "This isn't what she really wants. She's still in denial. I know she is."

Billy sighed. "You can't keep doing this to yourself, son. Bella has made herself very clear. You need to move on."

"You know nothing." Jacob screwed up the invitation in his fist, his body was vibrating as the urge to phase overwhelmed him. He hadn't felt so out of control in his life. "I have to get out of here."

"Jacob..." Billy called after him as he watched him flee the house. He tried to follow him as fast as he could, but when he reached the front door, all he saw was the invitation flung into a muddy puddle as his son flew toward the forest; phasing into his wolf form as he reached the trees.

* * *

Jacob didn't care where he was headed, he let his wolf instincts take over as he wandered through the forest, taking his anger out on the trees as he charged them, using his claws to rip great chunks out of the bark. In his head it was Edward Cullen he was ripping to pieces. She had done it, Bella had finally stomped on the last fragile pieces of his broken heart. His rage knew no bounds as he headed off again, his paws sinking into the soft earth as he charged through the trees, this time he had a direction in mind, he was going to confront her one last time. He would make her look him right in the eyes and tell him she felt nothing. He would know if she was lying, after all he knew Bella Swan better then she knew herself.

He reached the Swan house quickly, he stopped within the trees which lined the back garden. His sensitive nose could smell that Cullen had been there not long ago, but he was gone now. Charlie's cruiser was not parked in the driveway, so he must have already left for work; for once Bella was alone. Jacob phased back into his human form, not caring that he was naked. His clothes had been shredded when he phased. He strolled into the back garden, hiding within the shadows until he reached the tree beneath Bella's window. He climbed it easily, he knew where each branch was that could carry his weight, he had done it so many times in the past. A grim smile crossed his face, he bet Cullen didn't know just how often he had visited Bella this way.

The window to her room was ajar slightly and he had no problem opening it and jumping through, his feet hitting the floor silently. Bella wasn't in her room, Jacob could hear the shower running so he knew where she was. He decided to just wait until she came out of the bathroom, he lay back on her bed, putting his hands behind his head in a relaxed pose as he ran through his head what he wanted to say to her.

* * *

Bella wrapped a towel around her wet hair and and another around her body as she left the bathroom and headed for her bedroom. Some innate connection that was always tied to Jacob told her that he was in her room. She pushed on the door and peeked around it, he was there, lying on her bed staring up at the ceiling, frowning. Her face heated up as she noted that he was wearing nothing. She leaned back against the wall as she tried to get her erratic heart under control, he always had this effect on her, something which he was very much aware of. She had been deliberately avoiding him for that very reason.

"I know you're there, Bells." Jacob suddenly called out, making her jump.

"Damn werewolf senses." She muttered irritably to herself as she took a deep breath and finally entered her room. She made sure to keep her eyes trained on his face as she glared at him. "What are you doing here?"

Jacob sat up, his dark eyes roaming her body. The small towel she had wrapped herself in left little to the imagination. He smirked at her as he got up from the bed. "I got your wedding invitation."

Bella's face fell. She clutched her towel tighter around herself. "I didn't send you one."

"No, your leech did." The smirk left Jacob's lips as he began to circle her. "I bet he got great pleasure in doing that."

Bella's eyes followed Jacob as he moved, her heart sped up again as she watched his graceful movements. He really was a beautiful man, so much more alive and vital then Edward. Everything about him screamed Alpha male. She had to shut her eyes in the end, staring at him was only making her own body react to him, and she knew he could sense it.

"I'm sorry he did that." Bella finally managed to gain control over her vocal chords. "I didn't know."

"I guessed that." Jacob replied. "Why have you got your eyes closed?"

"No reason." Bella said quickly as she spun around so she was facing the other way. She could feel Jacob come up behind her, his supernatural warmth giving him away.

"Why are you doing this to us, Bells?" Jacob's voice had changed, she could hear all the heartache and pain she had ever inflicted on him.

"I hate hurting you, Jake." She whispered. "But it's for the best. I've given you my reasons."

Jacob's arms slid around Bella's waist and he pulled her back against him. His chin rested on her shoulder as kissed the shell of her ear, sending pleasurable shivers down her spine. "They were not reasons, honey. They were excuses."

"They weren't." She said weakly as she fought to regain control of her body. It always betrayed her when he was near.

"Tell me the truth, Bells. Why are you pushing me away? Don't give me that crap about not loving me enough. I know that's not true." Jacob began to kiss the nape of her neck and she arched her body into his. He smiled as he continued to tease her skin with his lips.

Bella let herself enjoy his kisses for a few seconds before she suddenly came back into the moment. She stepped away from him, adjusting the towel around herself that had been beginning to slip down her body. Her face was flushed as she looked up at him. "Stop doing that, Jake."

He gave her a smug smile as he watched her take deep breaths, her cheeks were rosy and her eyes bright as she gazed at him. "You want me." He said confidently. "I can tell, don't deny it. The leech doesn't make you feel the way I do."

Bella's small hands clenched into fists as she tried to think of a comeback, but her mind went blank. She knew deep down he was right, she was attracted to him, she loved him more then enough to leave Edward. But things were not that simple, there was a huge obstacle in their way; imprinting. The word was like a bucket of ice water. She suddenly felt cold. How could she commit to him, when any day now, he could abandon her just like Edward had once done. He had an imprint out there and she wasn't it. Bella sat on the bed and put her head in her hands.

"I can't do this." She mumbled.

Jacob's confidence drained away. He knelt down in front of her and tugged her hands away from her face. "You know I love you." He said earnestly.

"I know you do."

"You love me." Jacob took her hands in his and looked at her imploringly.

"Yes." There was no point in denying that, it was painfully obvious.

"Then just be with me." He said simply.

Bella pulled her hands out of his and placed them on either side of his face. "Why do you keep fighting?"

"Because you're worth it and I know that we are meant to be together."

His words touched Bella's heart, making it clench painfully in her chest. "I don't know what to do." She cried out.

Jacob stood and swept her up in his arms, hugging her close to him. She sank into his warm embrace and listened to the strong beat of his heart. They stayed that way for a moment before Jacob gently lay her back on the bed, crawling up so he could lie beside her. "I would never leave you, Bells. I promise."

"You can't know that." She said sadly.

"I do." Jacob said determinedly.

Bella didn't reply, she just continued to look at him, trying to capture the way he looked right now before she had to say goodbye to him forever. She reached out and traced her fingers over his face, lovingly caressing his smooth skin. She felt so tortured inside, why did things have to be complicated? Why did imprinting have to exist? She remembered Leah's devastated expression every time she had Sam and Emily shoved in her face.

She was pulled out of her musings when Jacob kissed her again. He pressed his lips to hers desperately, trying to impart everything he was feeling in that one kiss, expecting her to pull away at any moment. He was encouraged when she began to reciprocate, her hand sliding around the back of his neck, her fingers winding in his silky hair. Jacob fell back on the bed, pulling Bella's body on top of him. She let out a small gasp when she felt his hardness pressed between her legs. All that separated them was the small towel she was wearing.

Jacob tugged at the one that her hair was wrapped in and it unravelled, the wet tendrils of her hair falling around them. Their lips parted for a moment and they stared into each others eyes, both breathing heavily. Bella knew they were on the verge of crossing a line and she hesitated for a second. Jacob could see she was beginning to question herself and he kissed her again, cradling her cheek in the palm of his hand. "I love you." He whispered against her lips. "We belong together, you know we do."

This time it was Bella who stopped his words with a kiss. As she leaned over him her towel came undone and there was nothing separating them any longer. They were now skin to skin, Jacob's hand tangled in her hair as he deepened the kiss, savouring the taste of her. All of Bella's inhibitions fell away as she felt Jacob's warm hand roam across her body, setting her skin on fire. She had never felt such desire in her life, she was consumed by him.

Their movements became frenzied as passion took over. Jacob rolled them over so Bella was lying beneath him, he gave her a gentle smile as he lowered his head and began to kiss her breasts, his fingers trailing down the side of her body, driving her into a frenzy. "Jake." She moaned as his lips found hers again and they kissed wildly.

Bella scraped her nails along his broad back as she clutched onto him, the sensations he was invoking in her pushing her over the edge. She became pliant in his arms as he claimed her for his own. He slipped easily inside her, Bella was so relaxed that she didn't feel the pain, only the pleasure as he began to thrust gently. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, holding him close as he moved, sending her body into spasms as the pleasure built up and up, until she couldn't take anymore. She moaned his name as she orgasmed and he soon followed, whispering how much he loved her.

* * *

They lay side by side on their stomachs, just gazing at each other in wonder. Jacob smiled happily at her. "I love you so much."

Bella felt overwhelmed, she was still processing what had happened between them. She couldn't deny how much she loved him too and he deserved to hear her say it. "I love you, Jacob." A tear rolled down her cheek as she said the words.

"Hey why are you crying, honey?" He said fondly as he reached out and wiped it away. "Everything's okay. We are together now."

Bella didn't answer him, instead she raised herself up on her hands and leaned over him, kissing him softly. Jacob smiled into the kiss as he pulled her back down on top of him and began to make love to her for the second time.

* * *

The phone was ringing, it's insistent tone pierced Bella's sleep. She raised her head and opened her tired eyes. Jacob was lying spooned behind her, his arm thrown across her waist as he cuddled her to his body. He moved his arm as he lifted it to rub at his eyes before drifting back to sleep. It enabled Bella to slip out of the bed without disturbing him. She picked up her dressing gown and wrapped it around her as she padded down the stairs and went to answer the phone.

"Hello."

"Bella, it's Emily."

Bella froze, her fingers gripping the phone as Sam's imprint waited for her to answer. "Bella, are you there?" Emily said again.

"I'm here." Bella finally spoke, her heart hammering madly in her chest as her world came crashing down around her. The reality of imprinting once again smacked her in the face.

"I'm just ringing to say thank you for the wedding invitation. I was just wondering if you needed any help with the catering. I'm thinking of starting up my own business and it would be great if you could put some work my way..."

Bella let Emily drone on as she glanced back up the stairs, a lone tear rolling down her cheek. An image of Leah entered her head, once again reminding her of the consequences if she pursued a relationship with Jacob. It was doomed before it had even started, she should never have let herself get carried away like that. It wasn't fair to either of them.

"I have to go now, Emily." She said quickly. She put the phone down and leaned back against the wall, her mind a tumult of emotions. She stayed there for a while until she had regained control over herself.

When she had pulled herself together, she went into the kitchen and pulled out some notepaper and began to write a letter to Jacob; more tears leaked out of her eyes and dropped onto the paper, smearing the ink. Her heart was breaking as she penned a final goodbye. When she was done she crept back up the stairs and into her bedroom. Jacob was thankfully still asleep, a small smile playing about his lips as he dreamed.

"I love you." Bella whispered as she placed the note on her pillow next to him. Picking up some spare clothes from the floor she backed out of her room, closing the door gently behind her. She dressed hurriedly and went back down the stairs, snatching the keys to her truck as she ran out of the house.

Bella sat in her truck for a moment, the keys clutched in her hand as she hesitated. She longed to go back inside and lay back down next to Jacob, but her fears stopped her. She knew what it was like to be abandoned by the one you loved. She knew Jacob would never do it through choice, but she had seen the power of imprinting. Bella knew she would not survive if he left her under those circumstances. It was better for both of them this way. With a shaking hand she pushed the keys into the ignition and started the engine, pulling away quickly, knowing that the noise from her truck would have woken him. With her heart breaking and tears streaming down her face, she pulled onto the main road leading back to Edward.

_**A/N-the course of canon events changed after this. Jacob did not run off like he did in the books and he did not go to see Bella on her wedding day! Thanks for reading!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-this story is co-authored by Augustdarkstar. Thank you so much for the lovely reviews. **_

**Part Two-Two Old Friends Meet**

Charlie finally arrived back home. He opened the door and took his gun belt off, hanging it on the hook. He listened carefully for Bella's voice, he had seen her rental car parked in the driveway. He wondered how her unexpected meeting with Billy had gone; he knew that she would be mad at him for the way he had gone about things, but his friend needed to know that he had a grandson. It had been torture for Charlie keeping such a huge secret for so long. There were many times when he had wanted to blurt it out to Billy, but he had promised his daughter that he would keep it to himself. This way he had not broken his promise, just carefully arranged it so Billy found out for himself. Taking a deep breath Charlie entered the living room.

"Dad." Bella gave him a knowing smile as she rose to greet him.

"Hey, kiddo." Charlie gave her a kiss on the cheek. He studied her expression carefully, she didn't seem mad. "Good journey?"

"Not too bad." Bella sat down, taking Ethan back from Billy.

"Alright chief." Billy glanced up at him. "I've just been getting to know our grandson."

Charlie coughed nervously. He rubbed the back of his neck as he faced them both. "Look I thought this was the best way okay. I didn't like keeping secrets from either of you so I..."

"Chill old man, Bella has explained her reasons and I understand what a difficult position you were in." Billy reassured him.

"Bells?" Charlie looked at his daughter.

Bella smiled at him again. "I wish you had told me but I'm glad Billy knows."

"And Jake?" Charlie asked her.

Bella became uncomfortable when he mentioned Jacob's name. "I don't want to talk about that. Ethan needs changing." She picked up her son and fled the room before her dad could ask her any more questions.

Charlie sighed and sat down opposite Billy. "Has she said anything to you about why she is so against telling Jake? I don't understand, I can't get a straight answer out of her."

It was Billy's turn to feel uncomfortable. "She hasn't said too much. To be honest I have been spending more time just getting to know Ethan. I didn't want to pressure her."

"Of course not." Charlie agreed. "I really am sorry about keeping Ethan a secret. Bella was just so adamant about it. I wouldn't have known either, it was Renee who told me just as Ethan was born."

"Yes, Bella did admit that to me." Billy advised. "He looks like my Sarah, don't you think?"

Charlie gave his friend a sympathetic smile. "He sure does."

Moisture welled in the corners of Billy's eyes as he turned to look toward the hall where Bella had disappeared. Charlie pretended not to notice as he saw a tear roll down Billy's weathered cheek.

* * *

Bella changed Ethan on her old bed, she tried to keep her emotions under control. She was finding it hard being in the same room where she had made love to Jacob just a year ago. She looked at her son, he gurgled and flashed a sweet smile at her. "Oh Ethan." She murmured. "I don't know what to do. I thought I was doing the right thing, but maybe I'm not."

Ethan gurgled again, waving his arms and legs in the air. Bella smiled at him gently, lifting him into her arms and cradling him against her chest. "You are the best thing that ever happened to me, Ethan." Her eyes remained sad as she pondered what to do. Could she really trust Billy not to tell Jake? She wouldn't blame him if he went straight home and confessed everything. But really shouldn't it come from her? After seeing the way Billy was with his grandson, all her old reasons for not telling Jacob began to seem hollow and rather selfish. Maybe it was time to put aside her own fears and concerns and finally let Ethan have a chance to get to know his real father.

She held him up so that they were eye to eye. Ethan batted her on the nose with his hand, laughing as she blew a raspberry on his belly. "How would you like to meet your daddy, sweetheart?" She asked him rhetorically.

Ethan's lips parted in a wide smile.

* * *

Billy and Charlie were talking quietly when Bella came back into the room. She sat down on the sofa, holding Ethan on her lap as she faced them. "I need to tell you both something." She announced.

"What's that, kiddo?" Charlie looked at her in concern, worried that she was about to say she was going back to Jacksonville now that Billy knew.

"I have been thinking and I...I want to tell Jake about Ethan. You are all right, he deserves to know." She blurted out hurriedly.

Billy and Charlie exchanged surprised glances, astonished at this sudden turnaround. "What made you change your mind?" Billy asked her straight out.

"You." Bella gave him a weak smile. "I saw the way you were with Ethan and...Jake deserves to get to know his son too and Ethan has the right to meet his dad."

A relieved smile crossed Billy's face. He rolled his chair forward and took her hand. "Thank you. I'll go home and tell him right now." He said eagerly.

"No." Bella interjected. "I want to be the one to do it. I think it would be best."

Billy frowned. "I'm not sure that's a good idea, Bella. It's been a whole year since you last saw Jake."

"I know." Bella hung her head. "I hurt him, Billy. You know my reasons but...I've spent so long just thinking about my own needs. I dealt with it all wrong and...I need to apologize to him for everything." She raised her head and looked straight at Billy. "I don't want to be afraid anymore...I don't."

Billy patted her hand. "Okay, Bella. You are both adults now." He turned to look at Charlie. "What do you think old man?"

"I think she's right. We need to take a step back and let them handle this themselves." Charlie gave his daughter an encouraging smile. "You're doing the right thing, Bells."

"Can I leave Ethan with you both while I go and see him?" Bella handed Ethan over to her father. He took him and tickled his chin, making Ethan giggle.

"Where will Jake be?" Bella checked with Billy.

"He'll be working." A proud smile crossed Billy's face. "Just go to the house, Bella. You'll soon see."

Bella looked at him curiously. "Is that all you are going to tell me?"

"Yes." Billy said firmly.

"Okay then, wish me luck."

"You'll be fine, kiddo." Charlie jiggled Ethan on his lap as he began to get restless.

Bella leaned down and gave her son a quick kiss on his head before leaving. She picked up the keys to her rental car and walked to the front door, taking deep breaths as she psyched herself up for the task ahead.

* * *

Bella was lost in memories as she drove toward La Push. It seemed strange not hearing the loud rumble of her truck's engine, instead it was the silent whir of her generic rental car. She gazed at the beautiful surroundings as she passed the old treaty line which officially marked the boundaries between La Push and Forks. An image came into her mind of the time that Edward had dropped her off once to meet up with Jacob; it had been the night of the bonfire, when the pack had gathered to hear Billy retell the old legends. Jacob had been convinced that she would change her mind after hearing about the attack on his ancestors by the cold ones. Shame washed over her as she recalled how she had acted that night. All that was in her head was the tale of the third wife, who had sacrificed her life to distract a cold one, by stabbing herself. Bella had done the same thing the day Victoria had ambushed her and Edward on the mountaintop.

More memories assaulted her as she recalled the day she had leapt off the cliff in a pathetic attempt to hear Edward's voice. Jacob had been forced to risk his own life to pull her to shore. If he had been even a moment later, she would have drowned. That wasn't the first time she had done something reckless, there were the bikes, running off to a group of strangers in Port Angeles, her sad search for the meadow. The list was endless. Throughout it all, Jacob had remained loyally by her side and how had she repaid him? It all came crashing around Bella as it really hit her just how selfish she had been over the years. She had taken Jacob's selflessness for granted and done nothing but hurt him in the process. By the time she had reached the outskirts of the Black's property her face was awash with tears.

Bella switched off the engine and sat back in her seat, rubbing furiously at her eyes to clear them. The last thing Jacob needed to see was her sobbing. He had seen enough of her tears. She knew he was going to be angry with her, maybe he wouldn't even want to speak to her, but she needed to get him to listen, at least long enough, so she could tell him about Ethan. Thinking of her son made her regain some measure of control. She was doing this for him, she needed to be strong. With this resolve in mind, Bella climbed out of the car.

The first thing she noticed was the house. Her eyes widened as she took in the extent of the renovations. A roomy structure had been added to the back, creating much more space. She could see from the outside that there had been modifications there too, mainly for Billy. A ramp had been added to the front door, giving easier access for his wheelchair. The entire building had been repainted, giving it a more fresh, vibrant look. It was a beautiful house, just right for a small family to live in. As this thought entered her head she frowned. Was there a particular reason that all this work had been done in the last year? A heavy feeling of anxiety welled up in Bella's stomach, making her feel sick. Surely Billy would have given her some pre warning if Jacob had imprinted already? Then again she hadn't really let him tell her what had been happening in his son's life the last year.

With a heavy heart Bella turned her attention to the one thing that remained the same, her sanctuary, the 'Taj Mahal', as Jacob had once christened his garage. A couple of old rusted cars sat out the front, along with some other junk, like old tires and spare car parts. Some innate instinct made Bella start to walk toward the garage, she knew this is where she would find him. With her heart beating in trepidation Bella hovered outside the entrance, giving herself an internal talk to just walk in there and greet him. But she had forgotten about his werewolf senses. Before she could psyche herself up, he was there, looking as strong and vital as he always had. Her memory hadn't done him justice.

"Bells?" He breathed her name as he stared at her in shock.

"Hey, Jake." She greeted him, her voice faltering as she drank him in.

He stood motionless, his dark eyes roaming her body as he studied her carefully. Bella's arms slipped around her middle as she felt naked under his intense scrutiny. "You're still you." He said eventually.

"Yeah. I'm still clumsy old Bella." She tried to inject some humour into the tense atmosphere but it fell flat.

Jacob's eyebrows drew down in a frown. He twirled the chisel he was holding between his fingers in a restless motion. "What do you want?" He asked bluntly, he gave no sign that he was glad to see her.

Bella flinched at the coldness in his tone, but really what else had she expected from him? Swallowing nervously she moved a couple of steps closer to him. "I wanted to see you."

Jacob laughed bitterly. "Yeah, you're still the same old Bella. You always _want_ something."

"Jake, please. I need to tell you something." Bella pleaded with him.

Jacob closed his eyes for a few seconds and then held up his hand. "Just stop. I don't want to hear it. You said everything in that note you left me. Just go, Bella. We're done here." Before she could reply he disappeared back inside the garage, slamming the heavy door behind him.

The loud clang made Bella jump. She stared after him for a moment, not sure what to do. She hadn't expected him to run to her with open arms but she had hoped he would at least listen to what she had to say. She ran her fingers through her hair in a nervous gesture before walking toward the closed door. She grabbed hold of the handle and tried to pull it open; it was locked. Jacob had locked himself inside. Irrational anger coursed through Bella as she began banging on the metal door, cursing and yelling at him.

"Let me inside you idiot. Jake stop being an ass and open this door right now, or I'll swear I'll scream so fucking loud the whole wolf pack will appear to witness it."

The door was suddenly yanked open and Bella fell head first into Jacob's arms as she lost her balance. She heard him swear as he pulled her inside and then released her as if her touch burned him. She stood in front of him breathing heavily, her cheeks red and her hair a wild halo around her head. Jacob was staring at her, his dark eyes showing his own anger.

"I want you to leave." He demanded.

"No." She said determinedly. He would hear her out, she owed it to Ethan.

"I don't want you here." Jacob took a step closer to her.

"Tough. I'm staying until you hear me out." Bella crossed her arms and glared at him.

"I'll make you leave then." Jacob snapped at her, taking another step toward her.

"I would like to see you try." Bella yelled back at him.

Jacob was suddenly in front of her, without warning he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Bella let out a surprised squeal as he marched out of the garage and over to the rental car. She curled her hands into fists and hit him on his broad back as she flailed about. He took no notice as he lifted her off of his shoulder and placed her back on her feet beside the car.

"I can't believe you're driving this piece of junk." He muttered, kicking the wheel with his heavy boot.

"It goes." Bella smoothed her hair down with her hands as she tried to catch her breath. "I couldn't use my truck, the engine has seized up."

Pain crossed Jacob's face as she mentioned the old Chevy he had fixed up for her to drive. Bella regretted her words instantly. "I'm sorry, Jake." She caught hold of his hand, but he shrugged her off.

"I have nothing more to say to you, honey. Just...fuck." He swore as he realised what he had just called her.

Jacob had spun around and Bella couldn't see his face anymore; she really needed to see his face. The fact that he had unthinkingly used the endearment that he always called her in the past had given her some hope. She approached him cautiously, one hand outstretched as she gently touched his back. "Oh Jake, believe me when I say I am so sorry, for everything. I really am."

Before she could say another word she was suddenly swept up in his arms as Jacob gave her one of his familiar bear hugs, wrapping his arms around her tight as he dropped his head to her shoulder. Bella hugged him back as tight as she could, grateful to feel his warmth surround her once again.

_**A/N-Jake hasn't forgiven Bella yet, next up he finds out about Ethan...thanks for reading!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-this story is co-authored by Augustdarkstar. Thank you so much for the lovely reviews. Nikki :)**_

**Part Three-Father and Son**

Jacob finally let go of Bella and took a step back from her. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans, as if to prevent himself from holding her again. "So you wanted to talk?"

Bella felt saddened by the loss of his warmth, she rubbed her hands up and down her arms, suddenly feeling the chill in the air. She had become accustomed to the heat while she was living in Jacksonville. "Yes. I know this was a shock, me just turning up like this, especially after how I left things between us."

A dark look crossed Jacob's handsome face at her words. "There is no us." He said coldly.

Bella blanched, she thought they had a minor breakthrough, especially after he had hugged her, but it seemed he was still very angry. She dampened down her disappointment, she knew it wouldn't be that easy. "I'm sorry..."

"Stop saying sorry." Jacob said testily.

"I'm so..." Bella stopped herself and sighed. "Can we go somewhere and talk then, please?"

Jacob nodded. "Come into the house." He said curtly, turning quickly and taking great strides. He soon left Bella behind.

Bella ran after him, slipping on the muddy ground. Thankfully she managed to maintain her balance as she followed him into the house. It had been over a year since she had last been inside and the changes that had been made were stunning. She had been amazed with the work that had been done on the outside, but the interior was even more impressive. The shoddy couch and chairs had been replaced with new ones, obviously hand made. The walls had been repainted and touched up. The wooden flooring had been sanded down and varnished. Cheery rugs adorned the floor and the old wooden cabinet had been replaced with another, Bella guessed it was made by the same person who had done the chairs. She spun around in a circle, admiring everything.

"Jake, this is amazing. When was all this work done?"

Jacob shrugged. "Over the last few months. The work was long overdue."

Bella ran her fingers over the wooden chairs, they were exquisitely carved. "Who made these? I've never seen their like in the shops?"

Jacob sat down on the sofa. "I did." He said nonchalantly, like it was no big deal.

"You did?" Bella sat down in one of the chairs, facing him. "I know you did some occasional carving, but you always said you hated it."

He leaned back on the sofa, spreading his arms along the backrest. "Well it turns out I don't hate it as much as I thought. We couldn't afford new stuff, so I made it."

Bella's hand flew to the long silver chain hanging around her neck. She pulled it out and showed him the wolf charm he had made for her. She saw his eyes open wide as he stared at it. "You still have it." He choked out.

"Yes, the bracelet broke so I bought a strong chain instead." She gave him a wistful smile as she tucked it back under her shirt.

Jacob seemed thoughtful as he looked at her. "What did you want to talk to me about, Bells?" He asked her eventually.

The moment had arrived; Bella pulled her purse out of her shoulder bag and opened it up. She had a small photo of Ethan inside. She took it out and held it tight in her hand. Jacob watched her curiously. "What's that?"

Bella gave him a small smile. "It's a picture of Ethan."

Jacob's eyes narrowed. "Ethan? Who the hell is he?" His eyes flashed fire as he sat forward in his seat.

"Calm down." Bella passed him the photo.

Jacob snatched it from her and glanced down at the picture. His eyes widened as he studied the image of the smiling infant. The baby's eyes and skin tone were the exact shade of his, as was the spiky black hair sticking up from the boy's head. It was the smile that really made Jacob study the picture closely, the smile reminded him of his mother. After a moment he tore his eyes away and looked at Bella. "This is Ethan..."

"Yes." She said softly. "He's five months old now, he was born premature. He's doing well, a bit small for his age, but the doctor's said he will catch up soon."

Jacob shook his head as if to clear it. He stared at the photo again. "Ethan," he murmured. His hand shook slightly as it finally dawned on him whose baby this was. "He's your son."

Bella nodded. "And yours." She finally said the words aloud.

* * *

Jacob paced back and forth in front of Bella, trying to contain his anger. Of all the things she had ever done to him, keeping him in the dark about his son was the most hurtful. He clutched the photo in his hand, not willing to let it go. He had a son, a five month old son and she hadn't told him. He ran a hand through his hair and turned to glare at her.

"Why Bella? Why keep this from me? Do you hate me that much?" He demanded.

Bella shrank back in her seat. "Jake, it wasn't like that."

"Then what was it like?" He yelled at her, unable to contain his hurt and anger. "Because I don't get it. How could you keep me in the dark like this? Did you think I wouldn't want to know? I thought I knew you once, but it seems I don't know you at all, because the girl I loved would never, ever have cut me out of my own son's life."

Tears began to leak out of Bella's eyes. "Jake, I know you're hurt and angry. You have every right to be. When I found out I was pregnant, it was a huge shock. I was all over the place for a while..."

Jacob's eyes narrowed. "What about Cullen? Did you know you were carrying my child when you married him? Did you?"

Bella shook her head vehemently. "No, I swear. It's only when we reached our honeymoon destination that I found out."

"Fuck, I don't want to hear about your disgusting liaisons with the leech." Jacob shouted, he turned his back on her, putting his hands on either side of his head, trying to calm himself down.

"Jake, please." Bella begged him, she was crying in earnest now. "Edward and I...nothing happened between us. As soon as I found out I was pregnant we came straight back."

Jacob turned his head to look at her. "Why did you even marry him, Bella? After everything that happened between us? How could you do that? Don't give me the pathetic reasons you put in that note. I want the truth, you owe me that."

Bella put her head in her hands, avoiding his eyes. "All of that is irrelevant now. I came here to tell you about Ethan because you deserved to know. I will be staying with my dad for five days, you are welcome to come and see him while I am here." She got up from the sofa, not daring to even look his way. She just made it to the front door, when he got there first and locked it, preventing her from leaving. "What are you doing?"

"What I should have done a year ago." Jacob said, his voice steely. "I'm going to make you tell me exactly what happened when you left me, even if we have to sit here all night until you talk."

* * *

Bella wiped at her eyes angrily, irritated by the fact that she couldn't stop crying. Jacob was sitting back on the sofa again, his long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle. He watched her pace back and forth anxiously. "You can't keep me here against my will." She shouted at him.

"You're quite welcome to try and leave." A sarcastic smile crossed his lips as he held up the key and waved it at her. Bella suddenly lunged for it, but Jacob was too quick. She tumbled straight into his lap, after losing her footing.

"I hate you." Bella yelled again as she scrambled off him when he made no attempt to help her.

"Throwing yourself at me is not going to work this time, Bella." Jacob quipped.

Bella glared at him as she gave up and sat down. "I don't understand why you want to go over old ground. It doesn't matter anymore."

"It matters to me." Jacob retorted.

"I need to get to my son." Bella pleaded.

"Our son."

"Yes our son." Bella agreed with a sigh. "Please Jake this is all pointless."

Jacob sat forward in his seat. "Why did you just run out on me? Why did you head straight back to Cullen? You said you loved me."

"I did." Bella said quickly.

"Did?" Jacob questioned, hurt showing in his dark eyes again.

"Please Jake...don't do this." Bella begged again.

"Just fucking answer me?" Jacob swore, getting increasingly frustrated with her avoiding answering his questions.

"Alright then I do." Bella snapped.

"Do what?"

"Still love you. Happy now?" Bella turned away from him, her cheeks reddening as her own frustration built up.

Her answer made him relax. He seemed much calmer as he sat back and studied her carefully. He switched tactics. "Tell me more about Ethan."

Bella let out a relieved breath. "Like I said he was born early. He only weighed three pounds, one ounce. He had to be put in an incubator as he was struggling to breathe, but he's a fighter, just like you." She gave him a wan smile. "After twenty four hours he was breathing on his own without any aid, that's when I knew he would be fine."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Jacob said softly.

"I had my mom and Phil with me. Dad came down too after Ethan was born. I had support." Bella assured him.

Jacob seemed surprised at this news. "The leech wasn't with you?"

Bella shook her head. "I left Edward not long after we came back from the aborted honeymoon. I couldn't stay with him after I learnt of the pregnancy. He wanted me to stay, he offered to adopt the baby, but there was no way I could bring a child up in a house full of vampires. I went to stay at my mom's."

"Why didn't you call me then, Bells?" Jacob asked her sadly. "I would have come straight away."

Bella closed her eyes for a few seconds. "I don't want to go over that now, Jake. I had my reasons."

"What reasons? Why won't you just tell me?" He said, getting angry again.

"Because none of that matters now." Bella said again. "I need to get back to Ethan, Jake. He is due a feed."

"This is not over, Bella." Jacob said adamantly. "You will tell me."

Bella didn't reply. She stood up, hooking her bag over her shoulder. "You can keep the photo."

"Thanks." Jacob stood up and walked with her to the door.

She was surprised when he took out his keys and began to follow her out of the house. "Where are you going?"

"I'm coming with you." Jacob locked the door as he spoke. "I want to see my son. I've missed enough of his life already."

Bella felt guilt wash over her. "I'm sorry." She mumbled.

"So you said." Jacob led the way to the rental car. He held out his hands. "Keys."

Bella frowned. "I can drive."

"Keys." Jacob said again.

Bella glared as she threw them at him. He caught them easily before opening the driver's door and climbing inside.

* * *

They drove in silence all the way back to Forks. Jacob asked Bella no more questions, he seemed in a contemplative mood as he stared at the road ahead. It gave Bella a chance to really study him. He had grown more handsome in the intervening year since she had last seen him. His hair was longer, the ends now reached his neck and the fringe was falling in his eyes. She wondered why he hadn't cut it. His seemed more self assured then he had been, the happy teenager with the sunny smile had disappeared as he matured into the stunning man he now was. He had grown taller too, he must be six foot seven now, and he seemed to have packed on even more muscle. She was dying to ask him what he had been doing these past months, but knew she had no right to pry.

Eventually they reached Charlie's house, Jacob parked the car behind the Cruiser and got out. Bella followed after him, once again having trouble keeping up with his long strides as he leapt up the steps easily and knocked on the door. It was soon opened by Billy, who smiled as he saw his son. He glanced toward Bella. "Ethan is getting hungry, Charlie is just feeding him now."

"Thanks, Billy." Bella said gratefully.

"Come on, Jake." Billy urged him. "Go inside and meet your son."

An anxious look crossed Jacob's face as he slowly entered the house, he followed his dad toward the kitchen and hesitated in the doorway. Charlie was sitting on one of the kitchen chairs, Ethan on his lap, as he spooned some mashed up food into the baby's mouth. Bella could sense Jacob's nervousness. She came up beside him and dared to take his hand, she was relieved when he laced his fingers around hers.

"Come on, Jake. It's okay." She tugged on his hand and led him into the kitchen. She let go of his hand as she knelt down in front of her son. A globule of food had run down his chin and she wiped it away with his bib. "Hey, Ethan. I've brought someone very special to meet you."

Ethan waved his hands in excitement, bouncing up and down on Charlie's lap. "He's more or less finished eating, kiddo. You can take him." Charlie handed him over to his daughter.

Bella picked Ethan up and walked over to Jacob. Charlie and Billy discreetly left the room, giving them some privacy. "Ethan this is your daddy." She said gently as she held him out to Jacob.

A myriad of emotions crossed Jacob's face as he carefully took his small son from Bella. Ethan wriggled slightly, waving his hands in circles as if he was about to take off. His lips parted in a smile as he giggled. Jacob was struck once again by how much Ethan looked like his mom. "Hey, little fella." He said, his voice husky. "It's great to finally meet you."

Ethan's eyes opened wide as he stared at Jacob as he held him under the arms. He wriggled around slightly and then began to cry. Jacob looked at Bella in alarm. "What did I do?"

Bella smiled reassuringly. "Nothing, don't worry. He needs winding that's all."

"Oh." Jacob breathed a sigh of relief. He knew how to do that. He sat down on one of the chairs and rested Ethan on his shoulder, gently rubbing small circles on the infants back until he let out a soft burp. "Wow he sounds like me."

"He sure does." Bella was delighted to see the happy smile crossing Jacob's lips as he held his son.

Jacob lifted Ethan off of his shoulder and rested him on his knees. Ethan smiled again, he curled one of his hands around Jacob's fingers in a tight grip. "He's amazing, Bells." Jacob felt emotional as he gazed proudly at his small son. "I can't believe it, I'm a dad."

"Yeah, Jake. You're a dad." Bella echoed him, smiling happily.

Ethan clapped his hands together as if agreeing with them.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-this story is co-authored by Augustdarkstar. Thanks for the reviews. I really appreciate it. Nikki :)**_

**Part Four-Misunderstandings and Making Up**

Jacob spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at the Swan house getting to know his son better. Bella kept her distance, giving him and Billy time with Ethan. She preoccupied herself making dinner for everyone. It was pleasant sitting around the table, all of them grouped together, it felt like old times. Jacob fed Ethan and everyone laughed in amusement as father and son got covered in food as Ethan would take a spoonful and then spit it out, coating Jacob's shirt.

"There must be a knack to this." Jacob said ruefully as he wiped himself down.

"You'll get the hang of it." Bella replied as she took the cloth from him and whipped Ethan's bib away, replacing it with a new one. "I still have trouble."

They exchanged an amused glance, both of them not able to tear their eyes away until Charlie came into the kitchen and broke the spell they seemed to be under. Bella hurriedly left the room, feeling slightly breathless. Jacob concentrated on Ethan again, using the old spoon is an aeroplane trick. It didn't work, Ethan once again took the food and then dribbled it out, his arms going up and down as he bounced around with excitement.

Eventually Ethan's eyes began to close as he wore himself out. Bella gently took her son and placed him in the travel cot she had brought with her. Jacob stood beside her as they both watched him sleep, his long lashes casting shadows on his chubby cheeks as he breathed. "This has been a strange day." Jacob said wryly. "This morning when I woke I had no idea he existed and now I can't imagine life without him."

Bella glanced up at him as he spoke. Shame washed over her again as she thought about all the months he had missed of Ethan's life. "I know I keep saying it, Jake, but I'm sorry for not telling you straight away. I was so wrong."

Jacob sighed as he looked back at her. "You still haven't really explained why."

Bella hung her head. "I don't know what to say." She mumbled.

"The truth." Jacob said simply. "Don't I deserve that at least?"

Bella nodded slowly. He was right, she owed him that. Jacob took her hand and began to pull her toward the front door. "Let's go out for a walk."

They passed the living room where Charlie and Billy were watching a sports show. "Bells and I are going for a walk. Can you watch Ethan?" Jacob asked the two men.

"Of course." Charlie agreed. "Put a coat on, Bells. It's chilly out."

"Will do, thanks dad." Bella went over to the coat rack and borrowed one of her dad's fleece jackets. It was long on her, but it would keep the cold out.

Charlie and Billy watched their offspring leave the house. "Do you think they'll work it out?" Charlie asked his friend.

"I hope so." Billy said worriedly. "Jake will take it hard if Bella decides to go back to Jacksonville to live permanently.

"I know. I just hope they can work something out. At least Bells made the first move by telling him about Ethan, right?" Charlie replied.

"Yes, that's a start." Billy gave Charlie a reassuring smile, even though deep down he was very concerned. All he could do was hope for the best.

* * *

Jacob and Bella walked down the main high street for a while, both deep in thought. Bella was trying to think of the best way to explain her actions, it was hard admitting her fears and why she had left him so abruptly after their wonderful night together. She glanced at Jacob as they walked, his hands were shoved in his pockets and he had a frown on his face. She wondered whether he too had something to confess to her, after all she hadn't expected him to remain single after she had left.

They reached the diner and Jacob led the way inside. Bella slipped into one of the private booths while Jacob went to the counter and ordered some coffees. He came back moments later carrying a tray. He passed one cup to Bella, and she took it, cradling the warm mug in her hands. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Jacob took a sip of his before finally asking her why she had left the way she did. "Just tell me, Bella. What happened to just make you walk away from me like that, from us? I don't understand how you could do that."

Bella swallowed nervously, she clutched onto her mug tightly. "Imprinting." She mumbled.

Jacob stared at her. "Imprinting? You left because of that?" He said incredulously.

Bella glanced at him before dropping her eyes back to the mug in her hands. "I couldn't handle the fact that I would just lose you one day, Jake. Our relationship was doomed before it had even started. You have an imprint out there...maybe you have already met her." She looked up at him again, dreading his answer, she was shocked to see anger flashing from his dark eyes.

"That's how little faith you had in me?" Jacob said in disgust. "I told you that would never happen to me."

"You can't be certain of that." Bella defended herself. "Look at Sam and Emily and Jared and Kim. What about poor Quil?"

Jacob flinched as she mentioned his friend. "I am not them."

"You know how I was when Edward abandoned me the first time. I was a mess and only began to get better because of you, Jake. I then fell in love with you, despite myself. I was happy, but then fate decided to throw me another curve ball...I knew I wouldn't survive if I really committed to you and then one day you would leave through no choice of your own. You have to understand I needed to protect myself." Bella admitted.

"That's not fair, Bella. You gave me no chance to convince you otherwise. I have never worried about imprinting affecting me, do you know why?" Jacob retorted.

Bella shook her head.

"I fell in love with you when I was a kid. When you used to come and visit your dad twice a year, they were the highlights of my life. Then dad told me you were coming to live with Charlie permanently and I was so happy, I would get to see you more often. Then you began to date Cullen and I hardly saw you at all, until he left. Then you came back to me..." Jacob shrugged. "You know the rest."

Bella wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. His words had touched her heart; she could tell that he believed that imprinting would never affect him, but Sam had loved Leah, and fate had still torn them apart, with Emily usurping Leah's place in Sam's life. "Oh Jake, if only it were that simple. What about Sam, Emily and Leah? He was in love with Leah, right? If love was stronger then the imprint pull then he would never have left her for Emily." She said in despair.

"I'm not Sam, Bella." Jacob said in frustration. "Maybe he didn't love her enough."

"That's not true." Bella said sadly. "You told me once that he let slip sometimes that he still loved Lee despite the imprint."

"If this was holding you back, then why did you sleep with me?" Jacob demanded.

"It was because I love you. For those few precious hours when we were together I managed to push my reservations aside. I wanted to believe that we could make it. Then the phone rang and Emily..."

"Emily? She called you? What did she want?" Jacob questioned.

"Oh something about doing the catering for the wedding. She couldn't have contacted me at a worse time, it just brought all my fears back to the surface and I..." Bella felt shame wash over her as she recalled what she had done next. "I did what I always do...I ran. I ran instead of facing up to my fears and talking to you about it. It's what I'm good at, messing everything up."

Jacob listened to her candid confession and felt his anger melt away. He guessed it was the first time she had really acknowledged how selfish she had been by running off. Her fears about imprinting were understandable, but she should have come to him and talked it through.

"Bells, I understand that you were scared, but you also know me, like I know you. In your heart you must have realised that I wouldn't just say that imprinting wouldn't happen to me unless I was absolutely certain. I make my own choices. I have never seen any other girl but you. I told you that once, remember? Even when I try, you are all that I see." He said earnestly.

Bella was about to respond when they were interrupted. "Jake, what are you doing in here?" A girl with long shiny black hair and large dark eyes smiled at him. She was obviously Quileute. Jacob looked uncomfortable as the girl slid into the booth next to him and placed a hand on his arm.

"Hey, Vanessa." He greeted the girl. "What are you doing here?"

The girl called Vanessa laughed. "The local store didn't have any of the ingredients I was after so I came to the store here. They didn't have them either so I opted for a takeaway instead." She turned her liquid eyes onto Bella. "Who is this?"

"This is an old friend of mine, Bella." Jacob mumbled, he looked at Bella pleadingly.

Vanessa gave her a small smile as she shifted closer to Jacob and put a territorial hand on his leg. Bella wanted to rip her hand away. "Nice to meet you, Vanessa." Bella said, a hint of jealousy in her tone.

Vanessa just nodded, turning her attention back to Jacob and giving him a flirty smile. "I thought you would have called me, Jake. We could have made a night of it." She said meaningfully.

Jacob took Vanessa's hand off of his leg. "I'm busy right now, Vanessa. We'll talk later."

Bella suddenly got up. She flashed them both a forced smile. "Don't worry Jake. I have to get back now. You go and enjoy the rest of your evening. Nice to have met you Vanessa." She quickly slid out of the booth and fled the diner before anyone could see the tears beginning to leak out of her eyes. She was so sick of crying.

* * *

Bella slipped into the house, hoping to avoid being seen by either Billy or her dad, but as usual her clumsiness let her down. She tripped over the hall rug, cracking her elbow on the wall as she steadied herself. "Is that you, Bells?" Charlie called out as he heard the noise.

"Yeah, sorry I just tripped." Bella wiped her eyes quickly and smoothed her hair down before she entered the living room. She put a forced smile on her face as she greeted the two men.

"Enjoy your walk?" Charlie asked meaningfully.

"Yes, the fresh air was nice, but I feel a bit tired now. I thought I would head up to bed." Bella said with forced brightness.

"Where's Jake?" Billy asked her curiously, not in the least fooled by her act, he could see the tell tale traces of tears.

"Oh, he bumped into a friend, so I thought I would leave them to make a night of it." Bella said quickly.

"What friend?" Billy questioned.

Red tinged Bella's cheeks. "A girl called Vanessa. Look I'm going to go up, night." She left the room before they could ask her anything further.

Charlie looked at Billy in confusion. "Who is Vanessa?"

"One of our neighbors on the res. She has a thing for Jake, they went on one date months ago, but he wasn't really that interested." Billy sighed. "I think your daughter may have got the wrong idea."

Charlie shook his head in disbelief. "Do you think I should say something to her?"

"I doubt she would believe you, chief." Billy said wryly. "I'm sure he'll let her know when he manages to extricate himself from Vanessa's clutches, she sure is a persistent girl."

"Do you want me to give you a lift home now then if Jake is going to be a while?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, that would be good. Would it be okay if I popped back tomorrow to see Ethan again?"

"Of course." Charlie assured him. "You don't even need to ask."

* * *

Bella checked on Ethan, he was still sleeping. She lay back on her old bed and let the tears flow freely. Things had been progressing well with Jacob; it had been a huge step forward for her, admitting to him the real reason why she had left. Then Vanessa had appeared, Bella forced the image of the pretty dark haired girl out of her head. She had no right to be jealous. She was the one who had left him behind, married another and had his son without telling him. He was hardly going to remain single while she was gone. As far as he knew she was never coming back again.

She wished she had just stayed indoors and not gone out for the walk. Then she would have remained ignorant of his new relationship. Bella lay staring up at the ceiling for over two hours, torturing herself about what Jacob and Vanessa were doing. Charlie came back from dropping Billy home, he came to check on her, but she feigned sleep. Soon she heard him retire to bed, turning all the lights off. Bella rolled onto her side, pulling the duvet up over her head, as exhaustion finally caught up with her and she drifted off into a restless sleep.

* * *

Jacob stood outside the Swan house, it was nearly midnight. It had taken him longer then he expected to disentangle himself from Vanessa, she was very clingy and wouldn't take no for an answer. He had been rude to her in the end, telling her outright he wasn't interested and to just get lost. Vanessa had then created a scene, embarrassing them both in front of the other customer's in the diner. The owner had asked them both to leave before she called the police. Jacob had pictured Charlie turning up to arrest him; that would have gone down well.

After that Jacob had gone for a long walk, mulling over what Bella had finally confessed to him about why she had left. A part of him still resented her for just taking off without talking it through with him first, but Jacob knew Bella well, she had very low self esteem, always thinking she wasn't good enough. He wished now that he had gone to her himself before she went ahead with the wedding. He had let his own hurt pride keep him from confronting her, a lot of this mess could have been avoided if he had done just that. Maybe he wouldn't have missed out on the first months of his son's life.

Jacob found himself back outside the Swan house, he had come full circle. It seemed that even when he tried to keep away, he always ended up right back here. He crept silently around the side of the house, until he reached the tall tree that grew outside Bella's bedroom window. As he had done over a year ago, he climbed it swiftly, pleased that he still remembered which branches could carry his weight. Jacob was an expert at opening Bella's window, even when it was shut, he managed to pry it open and he slipped silently inside her room.

The light was out, but with his enhanced eyesight he could see Bella's outline, she was wrapped head to foot in her old duvet, the top of her head just poking out. He couldn't help but smile to himself, she looked kind of cute like that. Jacob sat on the edge of her bed and gently nudged her. "Bells, wake up. Can we talk?" He whispered.

Bella rolled over and opened one eye, when she saw it was him, she turned her back again and snuggled back in the duvet. "Go home, Jake. I'm tired. I'm sure Vanessa will keep you warm."

Jacob laughed softly when he heard the spite in her voice as she mentioned Vanessa. She was jealous. He nudged her again. "There's nothing going on between me and Vanessa."

Bella peeked over the duvet at him. "She had a hand on your knee."

"And I took it off. She likes me, what can I say? But I'm not interested in her." Jacob pulled the duvet further down so he could see Bella more clearly.

"It's none of my business." Bella sniffed.

Jacob crawled further onto the bed so he was hovering above Bella, he could see the shiny glow of the tears in her eyes. "I wished she hadn't interrupted us." He said softly. "We were really getting somewhere. You shouldn't have run off like that again, Bells."

Bella took a quavering breath, she was finding his nearness unnerving. He was stirring up long hidden emotions in her. "I was jealous." She confessed, unable to stop the words pouring out of her. Now that she had begun to open up to him, she couldn't seem to stop.

Jacob pulled the duvet off of her completely. She shivered as the cold hit her skin, but it was soon chased away when he lay beside her, pulling her to cuddle next to him. His warmth soaked into her body and she was reminded of the night they had spent together in this very bed. She felt his fingers touch her chin, lifting her head so that he could see her eyes. "Are you thinking about that night too?" He asked, his dark eyes studying her intently.

Bella had lost her voice, she was so caught up by the look in his eyes. She nodded her head instead.

"I always think about it, do you?" He whispered.

Bella nodded again. Jacob smiled at her; it was her smile, the one he reserved just for her. Ever so slowly he leaned down until his lips were millimetres from hers. Bella's breath hitched in her throat as she took the initiative and instigated the kiss. It seemed to be what Jacob was waiting for, his hand tangled in her hair, cupping the back of her head as he reciprocated, quickly intensifying the kiss, moving her over so she was lying flat on her back.

"Tell me you want this." He murmured against her lips as he began to unbutton her shirt with skilful fingers.

"I want this." Bella said breathlessly.

"You want me."Jacob began to pull the shirt from her shoulders.

"I want you." Desire shot through Bella as she used her shaking hands to tug at Jacob's t-shirt. He pulled away from her briefly, tearing it over his head and throwing it to one side. Bella gasped as she got a look at his flawless body. Her fingers began to trace gentle patterns on his hot skin, rediscovering the lines of his muscles. "You are so beautiful."

Jacob laughed as he quickly unhooked her bra and threw it in the same direction as his t-shirt. "No, that's you, honey."

Bella stopped what she was doing and stared at him. "Say that again."

"You're beautiful?" He glanced at her curiously.

Bella lifted her hand and placed it on his cheek. "No the other word."

"Honey?" Jacob smiled at her as he leaned down to kiss her again.

Bella held onto his shoulders as he began to kiss down her neck and further down until he reached her breasts. She arched her body onto his and bit her lip to stop herself crying out. She didn't want to wake Ethan or her dad. Jacob raised his head as he heard her breathing kick up a notch. "You're going to have to keep quiet, honey. I don't want Charlie walking in on us."

Bella glared at him. "Who said I would be the one making a noise, huh?" She began to unbutton his jeans and she smiled smugly when he hid his face in her shoulder to stifle his groan.

* * *

They kissed each other deeply as Jacob slipped easily inside her, he laced his fingers with hers as they made love. They both did their best to remain as quiet as possible, continuing to kiss, stifling each others moans.

Afterwards Jacob wrapped Bella in his arms and pulled her tight against his chest, tangling his legs with hers, unconsciously making sure there was no way she could sneak out on him by the morning.

* * *

They were woken up early by the sound of Ethan crying. Bella automatically tried to get up, but she was too tightly encased in Jacob's arms. She turned her head and looked at him, his eyes fluttered open as he yawned. "You stay there." He told her, giving her a quick kiss. "I'll see to him."

Bella was too worn out to argue. She nodded at him, pulling the duvet over her as he climbed out of the bed. Jacob left her room and went to the small box room that was serving as Ethan's temporary nursery. "Hey little guy. What's all the fuss?" He bent down and easily picked his son up from the travel cot. Ethan quietened down once he was held and he gave a little yawn.

"You are so like me." Jacob chuckled as he began to head back to Bella's room. He didn't get far before Charlie's door was yanked open. He had heard Ethan crying and had got up to investigate. His eyes opened wide when he saw Jacob standing there in nothing but his boxers.

"What the hell?" Charlie's face reddened.

Jacob rested Ethan on his shoulder as he gave Bella's father a sheepish smile. "Morning." He could think of nothing else to say.

Charlie was just as uncomfortable. He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again. Without another word he went back to his room and closed the door.

"Oops." Jacob whispered to Ethan as he carried him the rest of the way to Bella's room. "I think your daddy is in trouble."

A small gurgle was Ethan's only reply.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-this is co-authored by Augustdarkstar. Thank you for the lovely reviews. Nikki :)**_

**Part Five-A Surprise Proposal**

Jacob strolled into Bella's bedroom, holding Ethan. Bella sat up in the bed, her hair falling around her shoulders as she held out her hands for her son. Jacob passed Ethan to her carefully before sitting next to her on the bed. Bella blew raspberries on Ethan's belly, making him laugh. "You're my good boy." She cooed at him as she did it again.

"Err, Bells, we have a problem." Jacob hated to interrupt the moment.

Bella glanced up at him curiously. "What?"

"Your dad just saw me." Jacob admitted.

Bella froze, she glanced at her mostly naked best friend and winced. Her good mood vanished. "Oh no, he's not going to be able to get over this."

"Come on, honey. We're both adults, we have a child together. It's not like he doesn't already know that we've had sex before." Jacob said, not too sure what all the fuss was about.

"I know that, but he doesn't know we did it under his roof." Bella whined.

"But we did." Jacob shrugged his shoulders.

"We know that." Bella said testily. "But my dad doesn't. It's just something a girl's dad doesn't want to have shoved in his face. As far as he was aware I went to bed last night alone, and suddenly you're here."

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Jacob offered.

"Nooo way." Bella said vehemently.

"Bells you're making too big a deal out of this." Jacob tickled Ethan, making him laugh again. "Charlie may have been embarrassed, but he won't say anything."

"You wanna bet?" Bella picked up Ethan and climbed out of bed. "I need to get Ethan his breakfast."

Jacob took her face in his hands and kissed her gently on the lips. "It'll be fine."

Bella sighed. "I hope so." She began to leave the room and then turned back to face him. "Thanks for last night." Her cheeks tinged red as he winked at her.

"My pleasure darlin'." Jacob laughed as she rolled her eyes at him and went to get Ethan his breakfast.

* * *

Charlie's face was still red as he ventured down the stairs. Jacob and Bella were both fully dressed and playing with Ethan when he finally emerged. "Good morning." He said stiffly as he went to get some breakfast.

Bella sighed as she handed Ethan over to Jacob. "I'm going to have a talk with him, try to clear the air."

"Shouldn't I be part of this discussion." Jacob said, frowning slightly. "I mean we really need to talk about what happens now."

"I know we do. But now is not the right time." Bella evaded the question.

Jacob tried to reign in his irritation. "We will talk about this, Bells."

"Yes, I promise. Just let me square things with my dad." Bella begged him.

"Alright." Jacob conceded, still annoyed that she was cutting him out of the conversation. He watched her head off to the kitchen before turning his attention back to Ethan, who was holding a teething ring in his hand, sucking on it. "Your mommy can be so frustrating at times, do you know that?"

Ethan pulled the teething ring out of his mouth and waved it at Jacob, nearly hitting him on the nose.

* * *

Charlie was sitting at the kitchen table, hiding behind his paper when Bella walked in. She tried to keep a straight face as she sat opposite him and cleared her throat. "Can we talk?" She asked politely.

"About?" Charlie mumbled from behind his paper.

"You seeing Jacob early this morning." Bella came straight to the point.

Charlie coughed uncomfortably. He put his paper down, folding it in half. "When did he turn up?" He muttered.

"Late last night. I'm glad he did, we really needed to talk." Bella told him.

"Really? This discussion couldn't have waited until a more appropriate hour." He said.

"I know I should have let you know...but come on dad. I'm an adult now...these things happen." Bella gave him a weak smile.

"I'm not an idiot, kiddo. But don't you think you and Jake are moving a bit fast? You only told him about Ethan yesterday and all of a sudden I find him half naked in my house early in the morning." Charlie said irritably.

Bella turned red. "I understand what you're saying, but..."

"But what?" Charlie said seriously. "I'm just worried about you both. I would hate to see this all fall apart because neither of you are looking at the bigger picture. I think you should both take a step back and really think about what you are doing, for Ethan's sake, if nothing else."

Bella felt deflated. Her euphoria at waking up next to Jacob that morning dissipated. She knew her father was right. She and Jacob had just literally jumped back into bed together. The emotional reunion of the day before had made them reckless. She cursed herself in her head as she realised they had once again not used any protection.

"Bells, did you hear what I said?" Charlie asked her. "You zoned out just then."

Bella shook herself. "Sorry dad. Yes I heard what you said. Jake and I will talk today."

"Do you want me to look after Ethan for you? I could take him over to see Billy, give you two some much needed space." Charlie offered.

"Thanks, dad." Bella said gratefully, their talk had gone much better then she had expected.

"I just want you to be happy, kiddo." Charlie said earnestly.

Bella nodded. "I know." She gave him one last smile before leaving the room.

* * *

"Bye Ethan, be good for your Grandparents." Bella made sure her son was securely strapped in his car seat, before giving him a kiss on his head. Ethan was already falling asleep, a habit he had when ever he went on a car journey.

"See you soon, little guy." Jacob stroked Ethan's head before backing away and shutting the car door. "Thanks for this Charlie. Bells and I will be over later."

"Just make sure you talk." Charlie gave them a quick wave as he started the engine and backed out of the driveway. Jacob and Bella waited outside until they could no longer see the cruiser before heading back inside.

* * *

Bella made some coffee and then passed a cup to Jacob, they sat at the kitchen table and looked at each other, neither one knowing how to kick start the conversation. Bella stirred her coffee, wondering what to say. Jacob watched her for a moment, trying to work out what she was thinking. She seemed deep in thought and he worried she was beginning to regret last night.

"What are you thinking, Bells?" He finally asked. "You were in such a good mood earlier, now you just seem out of it. Are you regretting what happened between us?"

"No, of course not." Bella assured him quickly.

"Then what?" Jacob pressed her.

"We didn't use protection again last night, Jake. I'm not on the pill." Bella confessed.

Jacob ran a hand through his hair. "Shit, it just didn't occur to me. I just got carried away."

"We both did." Bella said wryly as she took a sip of her coffee.

Jacob reached across and took her hand. "Whatever happens, Bells. We'll deal with it. I mean we wouldn't have Ethan now if we had used protection the first time."

"No." Bella smiled as she thought of her son.

Jacob was quiet for a moment as he tried to think of the best way to phrase his next question. It was a big thing he was going to ask her and he was worried that she would back away from him again, especially as it was the imprinting issue that had made her run the first time. He hoped that his reassurances had been enough to convince her that it would not affect them.

"Bells, I need to ask you something."

"What is it?" Bella questioned him, she could see he looked worried.

"I know this is all happening so fast, but I think we've wasted enough time already. You know I love you." Jacob held her hand tightly.

"I love you too." Bella replied, a panicky feeling began to swell in her stomach, he looked so serious.

"You know I always pictured doing this in a more romantic way but..." Jacob got up and walked around the table and took Bella's hand again, dropping down on one knee.

"Jake, what are you doing?" Bella asked in shock.

Jacob looked up at her and gave her his special smile. "I don't have a ring yet, but I don't want to wait anymore, honey. So, Bella Swan, will you marry me?"

* * *

Billy jiggled Ethan up and down on his knees, making him laugh. He smiled happily as he giggled and Billy was once again struck by how much he looked like Sarah. Charlie noticed too. "He definitely takes after your Sarah, doesn't he? She was always happy and smiling."

"Yeah." Billy was lost in memories. "Jake gets his sunny nature from her. I think Ethan will grow up just like both of them."

Charlie patted Billy on the back before sitting on the sofa. "How do you think Jake and Bella's talk is going?" He asked his friend.

Billy sighed. "Hopefully they may have sorted out some sort of visitation arrangement for Jake to see Ethan."

"It will be difficult with Bells living in Jacksonville." Charlie mused. "Maybe she could be persuaded to move closer. I mean after last night..."

Billy laughed. "I bet seeing him was a shock."

"Yes, you could say that." Charlie grimaced at the memory. "Your son has a habit of walking around half naked. Why is that?"

Billy looked at Charlie in amusement. "Oh you know these youngsters."

"Not so young anymore." Charlie said regretfully. "When did our kids suddenly become adults?"

"Feeling old, chief?" Billy tickled Ethan's chin, making him giggle again. "I know I am. I can't believe we are grandparents already."

"True." Charlie held out his hands and Billy passed him Ethan. "Although having this little one added to the family is worth the passing years."

"I second that." Billy said with a smile.

They heard the front door open and then shut with a bang. "Looks like our offspring have arrived early." Billy frowned. "Is that good or bad do you think?"

Charlie shrugged. "It's hard to tell, but I guess we're about to find out." He looked toward the entrance to the living room as Jacob and Bella appeared, they were holding hands and kept shooting each other knowing glances.

"What's going on?" Billy asked straight away.

Jacob glanced down at Bella, then lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of hers. "We've got some good news." He said happily.

"Come on then tell us." Charlie was getting impatient.

"Do you want to or shall I?" Jacob checked with Bella.

She blushed. "No you tell them."

"Well one of you tell us, we'll die of old age at this rate." Billy complained.

"Alright dad, calm down." Jacob looked at the two men and took a deep breath. "Bella and I are getting married." He announced.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-this story is co-authored by Augustdarkstar. Thanks for the lovely reviews, I know the last chapter was very lacklustre, sighs. I have had my Mother-in-Law staying and she has sort of killed my muse :( Anyway here is the next chapter...**_

**Part Six-Questions**

Jacob's announcement was greeted with silence as Charlie and Billy exchanged an exasperated glance. "What? Why are you both looking at each other like that?" Jacob demanded.

Charlie got up and placed Ethan gently in his baby seat before turning to look at his daughter and Jacob. "I left you both alone so you could talk things through rationally, and this is what you come up with."

Bella's face reddened as she stared at her father in shock, she hadn't expected this reaction from him or Billy at all. She thought they would have been pleased. "We thought you would be happy for us."

Billy sighed. "Under any other circumstances Bella, we would be. But both of you have only just started speaking again. You have only been back in town for a couple of days after being apart a whole year. Add into the mix little Ethan here, don't you think this is all too soon?" He said gently.

Jacob bristled at his dad's statement. "You are unbelievable. Bells and I know how we feel about each other, we..."

"We are not disputing your feelings, Jake." Charlie interrupted him. "But something happened in the past between you that had my daughter running off to marry another man. You can't tell me you have sorted through those issues already?"

"He's right son." Billy agreed, giving Jacob a meaningful glance.

"I was wrong to marry Edward." Bella said sadly.

"Why did you then, kiddo?" Charlie dared to ask her straight out, he had always circumnavigated the issue before, not wanting to alienate his daughter completely, but things were different now.

"Why are you bringing up Cullen?" Jacob snapped, getting angry at the mention of Bella's ex-husband. "That's all history."

"Is it?" Billy looked intently at Bella. "Is he out of your life for good?"

"Yes. I told you I left him when I found out I was carrying Ethan." Bella said a little too quickly, making Billy think she was hiding something. He couldn't press the matter while Charlie was there as he did not know what the Cullen's really were.

"See." Jacob pulled Bella close to his side. "We've worked everything out. We don't want to waste any more time."

"So you'll be moving back here then, Bella?" Billy asked her outright.

Bella swallowed nervously. "Eventually. I can't just pack up my life overnight. I have a job in Jacksonville."

Jacob frowned as he looked at her. "Just chuck it in."

"It's not that simple, Jake. I need the money to support Ethan. I don't know how long it will take for me to find a job around here." Bella was trying to be practical.

"I'll support you." Jacob said dismissively.

"How Jake?" Billy interjected. "I know you are making some money now that you are doing your furniture carving on a more permanent basis, but you still don't earn enough to support all of you. Bella will have to work, and she's right, there are not that many well paid jobs around here."

"Why are you all doing this?" Jacob was becoming angry as all his euphoria at Bella agreeing to marry him melted away. He turned to Bella and took her face in his hands. "You said this is what you wanted, to marry me."

"I do." Bella tried to get him to see reason. "But as much as I hate to say it, our dad's are right. I need to work. This is something that is not going to happen overnight."

"So you are just going to go back to Jacksonville and take my son with you. I can't believe this." Jacob was finding it hard to control his anger. "I need some air." He quickly fled the house before he ended up phasing in the middle of the room.

"Where is he going?" Charlie asked in confusion.

Billy and Bella knew exactly why Jacob had needed to leave. "He'll be back, dad. He just needs to walk for a while and get his head together."

"Well he better get out of that habit. He can't just run off when he hears things he doesn't like." Charlie complained.

"Calm down, chief." Billy warned him. "It's probably best that he left otherwise we could have all ended up arguing in circles."

Ethan began to cry and Bella quickly hurried over and picked him up. He needed changing. "I'll just take him into Jake's room and clean him up." She picked up Ethan's changing bag and left the room.

"I might go and give Bella a hand." Billy said as an excuse so he could have a private chat with Bella.

"Well I might go out and hunt down your son then." Charlie suggested.

Billy nodded, knowing full well that Charlie wouldn't find him. "Okay, see you soon."

Charlie just nodded as he left the house.

* * *

As soon as Jacob phased he knew he had made a mistake. Quil and Embry were out on patrol; this was the first time that Jacob had phased since Bella's return. None of the pack had any idea that she was back in town, or that she had his son, Ethan with her. They certainly knew now as his two best friends heard his thoughts as he replayed the frustrating conversation with Charlie and Billy in his head. Once he started thinking about things, he couldn't stop, so Quil and Embry were unsuspecting witnesses to what had happened over the last two days.

"Whoa, dude." Quil was shocked. "Bella's back?"

"And you have a son?" Embry finished for him. "This is unreal."

"You slept with her before she married the bloodsucker." Quil was finding it hard to get his head around it. Jacob had managed to keep that little bit of information to himself, until now.

"This is all so messed up, Jake." Embry still couldn't believe it. "You asked her to marry you?"

"Quit it." Jacob was getting irritated by their comments. "This is no one's business but my own."

"You made it ours, man when you replayed everything through the pack mind. How long do you really think you could have kept this quiet?" Quil pointed out. "Especially from Sam."

"This is none of Sam's business." Jacob retorted angrily. "Or yours."

"Chill, Jake. We're your friends." Embry reminded him. "We want to help."

"I don't need your help. Bells and I are sorting it." Jacob brushed their concerns aside.

"You can't marry her, Jake." Quil said, his own sadness washing through both Jacob and Embry. That was one downside to being part of the pack, you shared your brothers pain whenever you were phased. "When you imprint Bella will get hurt, it's not fair to her."

Jacob stopped running, he was nearing them now, but Quil's words had shocked him. "I am not you."

"You are just as susceptible as we all are. You can't keep thinking it won't happen to you." Quil was full of regrets. His life had basically stopped when he had imprinted on Claire. He was now at the mercy of a toddler's whims and he was finding it hard to cope with the fact that this was his immediate future. He hated what had happened, but he couldn't change it. Claire was still too young to make any informed choices about anything. Quil had pinned his hopes on the fact that as she grew she would decide she didn't want him in her life; then he would be free.

"Imprinting is rare." Jacob said, refusing to believe that it could ever happen to him.

"We all thought that, Jake." Embry replied sympathetically. "But Sam, Jared and Quil have all imprinted. The elders are wrong."

"You haven't." Jacob responded, getting angrier by the minute. It wouldn't happen to him. He had always been certain of that. Why couldn't they see it? "Neither has Paul or Seth."

"Yet." Quil said grimly. "I can understand why Bella ran."

Jacob's temper flared at Quil's words. He took off at high speed, reaching his friend within moments. He launched his huge wolf body at Quil and knocked him flying. Quil flipped back onto his feet easily. They stood opposite each other, growling and pawing at the earth as they circled each other.

"Stop this." Embry tried to intervene. "Stop taking your anger out on us just because you don't like what you hear."

Jacob growled at him too. He was sick of hearing about imprinting, none of his brothers understood. He swiped at Quil one last time before sprinting off between the trees, his huge paws tearing up the earth as he headed back home. He needed to see Bella and his son, he should never have left. One thing was for certain though, he had to keep Bella away from the pack. The last thing he needed was for them to make her begin to doubt his word about never imprinting. As soon as he reached the spot where he had left his clothes, he quickly phased back and got dressed.

* * *

Billy rolled his chair into Jacob's room where he found Bella changing Ethan's diaper. She gave him a curious look as he waited patiently for her to finish up what she was doing. Ethan was getting sleepy so Bella carefully lifted him up and placed him in an old crib that Billy had found, it had once belonged to Jacob and his sisters. She leaned down and kissed her son's head gently.

"Sweet dreams, Ethan." She whispered. She backed away and motioned for Billy to follow her out of Jacob's room. "Is something wrong?"

"I just wondered if we could have a talk, Bella. Your dad has gone out to see if he can track Jake down. While he's out I wouldn't mind having a little chat." He asked her.

Bella ran her hands through her hair in annoyance. She was tired of answering questions. "Haven't you and my dad said enough? I get it, you think we're moving too fast."

Billy parked his chair in front of the kitchen table while Bella took a seat opposite him. "You have to admit Bella, this sudden need to get married has come right out of the blue."

"Jake asked me, Billy. I love him, I always have..."

"But yet you left him behind to marry his mortal enemy. Why was that?" Billy asked bluntly.

Bella flinched at his tone. "It wasn't as simple as that. I had my reasons."

"Did you tell Jake what they were? He was a mess Bella when you left. He couldn't understand why. It was me and his brothers who had to deal with the fallout." Billy reminded her.

Bella began to fiddle with the cuff of her shirt, shame dragging her down as she was again forced to confront just what trouble she had left behind. "I'm sorry, Billy. I can't say that enough. Jake knows why I left and he wasn't happy about why, but he understands."

"Does he?" Billy arched his eyebrows at her. "Or did he suddenly ask you to marry him because he's frightened that you'll bolt again?"

Bella gasped at his assertions. "That's not true."

Billy eyed her shrewdly. "I know my son loves you, Bella. That's painfully obvious. He really suffered when you left. I don't want to see him go through that again especially now that we know about Ethan. Why did you go and marry the Cullen boy?"

Bella put her head in her hands so she could avoid looking at Billy. "Isn't it obvious?"

Billy guessed by her reaction exactly what had made her run into the bloodsucker's arms. "You were worried about him imprinting." He said softly.

"Yes." Bella confessed, her voice full of despair. "That's why I left. I thought what was the point of even beginning anything when we were doomed anyway."

"Then why the sudden turnaround now? Why agree to marry Jake if you still hold that fear in your heart, Bella? Deceiving him about how bad you are still feeling about the issue will not be healthy in the long term. It will end up coming between you and perhaps destroying what you have so tentatively started to rebuild." Billy said wisely.

"He told me that it would never happen to him, Billy." Bella began to sob. "I so want to believe him, to believe that he really knows deep inside. I was just so happy to have him back and that Ethan got to know him. These last two days have been amazing. I don't want to lose that, so I agreed to marry him when he asked."

"Oh, Bella." Billy murmured. He took her hand and squeezed it in sympathy.

"What do I do?" Bella begged him, finally looking him in the eyes.

"The best way to deal with your fears is to confront them head on." Billy said firmly.

"How?" Bella questioned.

"I think you should spend time with the pack and their imprints. Go and see how they interact and just what their relationship involves." Billy advised.

"How will that help?" Bella asked in confusion. "It will just make me feel worse."

A small smile played across Billy's lips. "I don't think so. I think after you observe the imprints you will finally be able to put your fears to rest. I know my son and he would never say something so definite if he wasn't one hundred percent sure."

Bella shrugged. "I'll give it a try. It's not like I can avoid the pack forever. Although I doubt they will be over the moon to see me."

"You assume the worst too often, Bella. Now I have one last question and then I promise that I will leave you in peace."

"Go on."

"Are you still in touch with the Cullen family?" Billy asked.

Bella winced, she knew Billy would never be fooled. "Yes." She said honestly. "But only by e-mail. Alice made me promise to let her know how I am faring. I haven't actually seen them since I left though."

"If you intend to stay with Jake, you know you will have to cease all contact with them." Billy warned her.

"Yes I know that." Bella assured him.

"Okay, thank you for being honest with me."

"You're a hard man to lie to." Bella quipped as she gave him a wry smile.

* * *

Jacob was walking back toward his house when he bumped into Charlie. "Oh there you are. I've been looking for you."

"Look, I'm sorry I left like that. I just needed to cool down." Jacob apologized. "I know that you are just concerned about me and Bells, but honestly we're fine. We know what we are doing."

"Jake, nothing would make me happier then to see you two get married and settle down, but you have only just begun to reconnect. There are a lot of practicalities to sort out. Just slow down a bit son and talk things through more. That's all me and your dad are asking." Charlie pointed out.

"If it makes you both feel better." Jacob replied grudgingly.

"It will." Charlie said firmly as he led the way back inside.

* * *

Jacob was relieved to see Bella sitting at the kitchen table with his dad. She had made lunch and was just waiting for him and Charlie to return before she served it up. Jacob went to help her as she headed into the kitchen to fetch the plates. He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his chest.

"I'm sorry I left like that." He apologized, kissing the nape of her neck. "I just needed to run off some steam."

"I know." Bella turned her head and gave him a small smile.

Jacob rested his chin on her shoulder. "It doesn't matter what our dad's say honey. We know what we're doing. We don't need their blessing to get married. We can elope or something." He whispered, only half joking.

Bella turned around in his arms and gazed up at him. "I've been thinking, Jake."

"Have you?" Jacob smiled at her affectionately as hooked her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah." Bella took a deep breath to steady herself before she lost her resolve. "Jake, I want to see the pack."

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-this story is co-authored by Augustdarkstar. Thanks for the lovely reviews. I really appreciate it. Nikki :)**_

**Part Seven-Bella's Revelation**

Jacob frowned as he dropped his hand from Bella's face. "Why do you suddenly want to see the pack?"

"I just thought if we are really going to make a go of this I need to start facing up to things, that includes your brothers and Leah of course." Bella studied him, wondering why he looked so worried.

"I don't think that's a very good idea right now, Bells." Jacob tried to dissuade her. "I mean I've only just got you back. I want you and Ethan all to myself." He leaned down to kiss her, savouring the feel of her mouth moving with his.

Bella was flushed when the kiss ended, making Jacob smile. He loved seeing the effect he had on her. He touched her cheek with his fingers, stroking the soft skin, thinking that he had managed to put her off. But Bella was still determined to follow through with Billy's advice. She took Jacob's hand from her cheek and kissed his fingers. "So how about it? Why not invite the pack over here for dinner? I'll cook." She offered.

"It's a bit short notice, Bells. Maybe some time in the future." Jacob tried one last desperate attempt to stop her going ahead with her plan, but she remained adamant.

"Jeez, Jake anybody would think that you didn't want me to see them. Come on, I'm not naïve, I understand that they will be apprehensive around me, especially Paul. I expect I'll get called a few names by him, but this needs to be done. Don't you think?" She gave him a bright smile, already planning a menu in her head.

"It's a lot of people to cook for." Jacob hedged.

"I want to do it. I'll need to go shopping, with the imprints coming along as well, I'll need to cater for them too." Bella began to hunt around for a bit of paper to write her ideas down.

"You want to invite Emily and the others too?" Jacob said in surprise. "Why?"

"Just something your dad said." Bella finally managed to find a scrap of paper and a pencil. She began to jot down some ideas.

"What did my dad say?" Jacob glanced behind him at Billy, who was having a quiet discussion with Charlie.

"Oh nothing much." Bella did not want to disclose all that Billy had advised her to do. "Just something about facing things head on. That's what I plan to do."

"Bells I really don't think this is a good..." He was interrupted by the sound of Ethan waking up, crying.

"Can you see to him?" Bella asked. "I'll just serve up lunch and then afterwards I'll pop into Forks to stock up on some food.

Jacob ran out of things to say. She wouldn't be persuaded that this was a bad idea. The most he could do was try and keep Leah away from her. One word from his pack sister about imprinting could send Bella spiralling back again. He would not allow this to happen. He couldn't lose her, not again. Jacob headed off to collect Ethan from his room, his mind and heart heavy with worry.

* * *

While Bella was preoccupied in the kitchen making up the food, she sent Jacob off to contact the pack to make sure they could all come. She had arrived back from Forks with bags of food, it must have cost quite a bit of money. Jacob had tried to give her some toward the cost but she waved him away, saying it was the least she could do after all that the pack had done for her in the past. After this he had done his best to get his dad alone, so he could grill him on exactly what he had said to Bella, but Billy had managed to avoid him. As soon as Bella divulged that they were having Jacob's friends over for dinner, Charlie and Billy had excused themselves, saying that there was a game on later. They relocated to the Swan house, giving Jacob no opportunity to find out exactly what his dad had been saying to Bella.

Reluctantly Jacob had contacted everyone, inviting them over. He was irritated when they all said yes, a huge hint that Embry and Quil had failed to keep their mouths shut, they must all know about Ethan already. After he made the last call he picked Ethan up in his arms and looked at him. "I'm going to need all your help today, little fella." He said ruefully. "You'll be a good distraction."

Ethan smiled, revealing his little white baby teeth. His black hair was standing up in spikes, making him look extra adorable. Jacob smiled back at him. "You will definitely break some hearts when you're older, Ethan."

Ethan's arms whirled in the air, a habit he had when he was getting overexcited. Jacob was sure his son would take off one day. He laughed as he stood and spun Ethan around in a circle, making him giggle with delight.

* * *

Bella was exhausted when she finally finished making up the food. She had decided to go for a buffet in the end. There was not a big enough table for them all to have a sit down meal and she thought this was her best option. Jacob had looked after Ethan while she was busy; it had been a good bonding experience. Jacob could not imagine even going one day now without seeing his son or Bella. He didn't want them to go back to Jacksonville at all and vowed to himself that he would make sure she stayed. If it was just a job that was keeping her in Jacksonville, then he would make sure to find her one here.

"Can I have a quick shower, Jake? I feel all sweaty." Bella asked as she ran her hands through her hair.

"Go ahead." Jacob was just feeding Ethan, now becoming quite the expert at spooning the food into his son's mouth.

"I wish I had brought a change of clothes with me." Bella said regretfully. "This shirt has food stains on it."

"Just borrow one of mine, honey." Jacob offered. "It'll be fine with your jeans."

Bella gave him a wistful smile. "Well it wouldn't be the first time I've worn your clothes."

Jacob grinned at her. "I much prefer you without clothes."

Bella rolled her eyes at him as she turned and headed to the bathroom. "Down boy." She yelled over her shoulder, making Ethan gurgle, the food in his mouth dribbling down his chin.

* * *

Sam and Emily were the first to arrive. Emily had brought some muffins with her, handing them to Bella as soon as she stepped inside the house. She was wearing a pretty floral dress which came down to her knees, her black hair parted at the side to hide the scars on her face. "I made these, my boys love them. No meal is complete without them, right Sam?"

Bella glanced at Sam, he gave Emily a small smile as he nodded. "Right." He then turned his attention to Bella. "So you're back."

Jacob shot Sam a glare, he was bordering on being rude. He quickly came up behind Bella and embraced her. "Yes she's back."

"Good to see you, Sam." Bella said politely, feeling better with Jacob's arms around her. She studied Sam covertly, he hadn't changed much, he was still as hard to read as ever, but she was sure she detected a sadness in his dark eyes that hadn't been there before. He was dressed casually in just jeans and a t-shirt, the opposite to Emily's more dressy look.

"Come Sam." Emily took his hand giving Bella a sweet smile. "I'll just check over the food to make sure it's all done."

Bella knew an insult when she heard one. "I can assure you, Emily, the food is ready and perfectly edible." She tried to keep her tone even.

"Oh I know. It's just my boys like their food a certain way, that's all." Emily gave her another saccharine smile before heading over to the kitchen table where Bella had laid out the food.

Sam hesitated a moment before following after her. "She doesn't mean anything by it." He said by way of apology. "It's just it's usually her role to feed the pack."

"I understand." Bella replied magnanimously. She was still seething over Emily's reference to 'her boys,' it was enough to make you sick. She felt a twinge of sympathy for Sam as she watched him join his imprint.

"Well that went better then expected." Jacob whispered to Bella.

"I suppose." Bella agreed. "I mean at least Sam didn't grill me or anything. He seems sad though, Jake."

Jacob turned her around in his arms. "He's had a lot to cope with."

Bella knew that Sam could hear their conversation, so she didn't get Jacob to elaborate, but she was curious to know what he meant. She would have to wait until later because the others were arriving. Quil was the next to turn up, he had little Claire with him, which surprised Bella. She just assumed he would come alone. She glanced down at the little toddler, who seemed utterly bewildered by everything that was going on around her.

"Hey Quil." Jacob greeted his friend.

"Jake, Bella." Quil nodded at them. "Sorry it's my day to spend with Claire. I had to bring her. You don't mind, do you?"

"Err no." Bella said quickly. "She will be good company for Ethan. Jake why don't you go get him and introduce him to Claire."

"Sure," Jacob led the way over to Ethan, who was playing in his playpen with some of his favourite toys. Quil whispered his thanks to Bella as he passed, and she was again struck by the sadness and resignation shining in his eyes. He had much the same look as Sam. She didn't have much time to ponder this because Seth and Leah arrived together.

This was the first time that Bella had seen Leah since the newborn fight. She was struck again by the other girls beauty. Leah was stunning. Time had only made her grow more beautiful. She was dressed casually in jeans and a halter neck top, showing off her toned shoulders and arms. Leah had grown out her short hair and it now fell to her shoulders in a black wave. Seth hadn't changed at all, except to fill out more. He was as tall as Jacob now, but he still wore his happy grin, showing off his laid back personality. As soon as he saw Bella he gave her a hug.

"Good to see you, Bella." He said sincerely.

Bella smiled at him. "You too, Seth. Thanks for coming."

"Food smells good." Seth breathed in deeply, inhaling the smell. "It will make a change from muffins."

Bella tried not to laugh. "Emily brought some with her."

Seth exchanged a dubious look with his sister. "I should have expected that." He muttered.

"You're looking well Swan, or is it Cullen?" Leah asked sarcastically.

"Lee don't" Seth warned his sister.

"It's okay, Seth." Bella assured him. "It's Swan Leah, you were right the first time."

Leah gave her a wry smile. "What's with the over sized t-shirt?"

Bella looked down at herself, she had borrowed one of Jacob's t-shirts, it fell to her knees. "Oh I got food down my top so I had to use one of Jake's."

"Come here." Leah muttered in exasperation. Before Bella could protest Leah grabbed the bottom of the t-shirt and knotted it around Bella's slender waist, making it look much more fitting. "That's better."

"Thanks." Bella said, feeling completely bewildered.

"Don't mention it." Leah replied.

Jacob reappeared just then. He saw Leah talking to Bella and he quickly got between them. "Why don't you go check out the food, Lee?" He said meaningfully.

An annoyed look crossed Leah's face at his words, but she didn't protest. "Later Swan." She mumbled as she followed her brother into the kitchen.

The others arrived all together. Embry gave Bella a hug when he greeted her, Jared and Kim gave her polite hello's before disappearing to join Sam and Emily. Paul, true to form, insulted her. "So got sick of the bloodsuckers did you? Leech lover."

Jacob growled, but Bella held up her hand, indicating that she would handle it. She looked him up and down, a polite smile on her face. He was wearing tight fitting jeans and t-shirt, obviously to show off his muscular frame. "Still an asshole I see Paul. It's nice to know that some things don't change."

The other members of the pack burst out laughing at this comment and Paul satisfactorily shut his mouth, stalking past her to join the others. Jacob pulled her into a hug. "That was a classic, honey." He whispered in her ear.

Bella grinned.

* * *

The food didn't last long, with the pack's huge appetites it was consumed within half an hour. Bella busied herself during this time topping up drinks and making polite conversation with the imprints. Jacob was showing Ethan off to his brothers. Little Claire followed them around, captivated by the smiling baby.

Bella wiped her brow as she dumped all the used plates in the sink. So far meeting the pack again had gone a lot smoother then expected. She turned her head to check that no one was looking her way, especially Emily, and dumped the uneaten muffins in the bin discreetly. It seemed that Emily's 'boys' were a bit tired of her delicious muffins.

"I saw that, Swan." Leah's voice beside her made her jump. She had forgotten how silently the wolves could move.

"Jeez, you startled me." Bella held her hand over her heart. "No one was eating them so I thought I would get rid of them. I didn't want to upset your cousin."

"Yeah, like I care." Leah gazed over at Sam and Emily, as she did so, Sam turned his head and looked right at her. Leah quickly turned away. "Come for a walk?"

"Now?" Bella asked in surprise.

"Yes. I want to tell you something." Leah confided.

Bella was stunned. Why would Leah want to tell her anything? "If you want." She agreed. "I'll just let Jake know."

Leah stopped her. "No, don't tell him. He would try and stop you."

"Why?" Bella asked suspiciously.

Leah gave her a wry smile. "You know why he wouldn't want you to talk to me."

Bella's heart began to beat louder in her chest. Leah could only be referring to imprinting. "Okay." She said softly. She glanced over at Jacob, who was still proudly showing Ethan off to Seth, Quil and Embry. While he was preoccupied, she slipped outside with Leah.

* * *

They strolled next to each other in silence for a while. Bella didn't know what to say and Leah seemed in deep thought. They reached the garage and Leah stopped, she leaned against the cool metal walls and finally looked at Bella. "I'll be leaving tonight." She revealed.

"Leaving?" Bella gasped. "Why? I mean how?"

Leah's eyes became distant as she spoke. "Because I can't bear to be in Sam's head anymore. I know that he loves me, but he's tied to Emily in such a way that I can't break through. I need to kick start my life again. I'm stagnating here."

"Can you just go like that?" Bella asked her gently.

"I told Sam and he released me." Leah confessed. "He knows what an impossible situation we're all in."

"Is that why he looks so sad?" Bella questioned.

"You saw that?" Leah sounded surprised. "I thought I was the only one who could tell."

"No. I've seen it not just in Sam's eyes, but Quil's and even Jared's today." Bella admitted. "None of the pack who have imprinted are really happy inside, are they?"

"No." Leah replied. "On the surface maybe, but not here, in their hearts." She placed a hand over her chest.

Bella copied Leah and leaned back against the garage's metal walls. "All their choices taken away. They can't choose who to love, where they want to go. All their dreams dashed. It makes me glad that Jake never imprinted on me. If he had I would never know if he truly loved me or just had to because I had a hold over him." This revelation was surprising to Bella.

"You know the only one in that room who is truly happy is Jake." Leah said. "That's why I haven't kicked your ass you know. Jake's happy and in love. I haven't seen that in any of my brothers. So for that reason alone I'm glad you came back."

Bella had to laugh at this comment. "Then I guess I should take that as a compliment."

"Whatever." Leah pushed away from the wall and began to head back inside the house.

* * *

Jacob had finally realized that both Bella and Leah were missing. His stomach churned as he carried Ethan around the house, searching for her. It appeared he was too late when he saw both girls come back inside. He studied Bella's face; she didn't look upset. In fact, she looked quite calm. He hurried over to her. "Bells?"

"Hey." Bella smiled at him as she took Ethan into her arms and cuddled him. "You're getting sleepy, aren't you, sweetie" She cooed at him.

"Is everything alright?" Jacob asked her anxiously.

Bella's smile widened as she reached up and kissed him gently on the lips. "Everything couldn't be better. You know what Jake?"

"No." He said in confusion.

"I'm so glad you never imprinted on me." Bella declared. "Right I'm putting this one down for a nap. Be back in a second."

Jacob stared after her as she walked away, completely stunned by her confession.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	9. Chapter 9

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-this story is co-authored by Augustdarkstar. Thank you so much for the lovely reviews on this story! **_

**Part Eight-Bella's Vision Returns**

Jacob stood outside the door as he spoke to Quil and Embry, they were the last to leave. Quil held Claire's hand. She had tired herself out playing with Ethan. "I better get her home." Quil said reluctantly.

"Thanks for coming, Claire." Jacob smiled at the little girl.

Claire gave him a shy smile. "Can I see Ethy again?" She asked.

"Of course you can." Jacob promised.

"Thanks man." Quil said gratefully. "Tell Bella thanks for the invite. I appreciate it."

Jacob looked at his friend. Quil seemed really unhappy. The confident, over exuberant young man was gone, to be replaced by a quiet, sometimes sad individual. Quil's imprint with Claire had shocked them all and Jacob could see that his friend was suffering the consequences of it. He waved goodbye to him and Claire as they left, exchanging a glance with Embry as he waited until they were out of sight.

"Something has to be done about Quil." Jacob told Embry. "He has changed so much. I don't like seeing him like this."

"I know." Embry agreed. "But what though? Until Claire is old enough to make an informed decision he is tied to her."

"There must be a way to break an imprint." Jacob mused.

"Are you referring to you or Quil?" Embry asked him shrewdly. "I know that you are still worried about imprinting, no matter how many times you protest."

Jacob glared at him. "I know it is not going to happen to me. How many more times? I love Bella, she is my choice."

"I hear the words Jake, but how can you really know?" Embry pressed. "I mean I look at Quil, Sam and even Jared, they're all trapped. I don't want to end up like that. You know that Jared has lost his chance at a scholarship to that expensive sports academy. Kim refused to relocate from La Push. He's livid, but can't go against her wishes."

"I really know, Em, in here." Jacob pointed to his heart. "But you're right about the others. Leah is leaving tonight because she can't stand to be near Sam and Emily any longer. It's getting harder when we are all phased, I hate sharing Sam, Quil and Jared's unhappiness. I thought having an imprint was supposed to benefit the pack, but all I see is the total opposite."

"Times have changed, Jake. Maybe our ancestors needed an imprint, but we don't." Embry shrugged. "It makes me fearful to look at a girl in case it happens to me."

"Is that why you stopped dating?" Jacob asked.

"Yes. What's the point of getting involved when it could all be taken away?" Embry sounded bitter.

"Then we have to make sure that it doesn't happen. I am going to find out how to break an imprint before something happens that none of us can't unravel." Jacob vowed.

"Spoken like a true Alpha." Embry laughed. "When are you gonna take it on, dude?"

"Very funny." Jacob hit Embry in the shoulder. "I don't want it, I told you."

"You might not have a choice, Jake." Embry warned him. "You know as well as I that Sam is at breaking point. Now that Leah is leaving, who knows when he will suddenly fall apart."

Jacob ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He didn't want to be the leader of the pack. He had only just got Bella back, how would she feel knowing that he could suddenly be forced to take on another burden. "I'm going back inside. I'll see you later, Em."

Embry nodded. He put his hands in his pockets as he walked off toward his own home.

* * *

Jacob found Bella in the kitchen washing up the dishes. She smiled at him as he joined her; taking the wet plates from her and beginning to dry them. "It went well in the end didn't it?" Bella said in relief. "Even Paul thanked me before he left."

"Yeah, I heard that." Jacob nudged her playfully. "Is Ethan asleep?"

"Yes, little Claire wore him out." Bella rinsed another plate and handed it to him.

"What did you mean earlier, Bells, when you said you were glad that I had never imprinted on you?" Jacob asked her curiously.

Bella stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. "I didn't tell you the whole truth about my conversation with your dad. I was still having doubts about imprinting, Jake."

"I told you that it wouldn't happen to me." Jacob said exasperatedly. "I thought you believed me."

"Can you let me finish?" Bella retorted.

Jacob nodded, picking up another plate and drying it furiously.

"I have been so happy the last few days. Seeing you with Ethan and being able to be with you has been amazing. Then you asked me to marry you and I was so ecstatic. I didn't want to lose you again, so I shoved my fear of imprinting down deep inside. But your dad is a clever man," Bella said ruefully. "He could tell I was still scared, so he suggested I face my fears and see how your brothers and their imprints interacted. I am so glad I took his advice, Jake. Sam and the others seem so unhappy."

Jacob stacked the plate he was drying on top of the others and pulled Bella into his arms. "I'm sorry I got irritated, honey. You are right though, Sam, Quil and Jared are not happy."

"Is there nothing that can be done, especially for poor Quil?

"I don't know yet, but I am going to try and find out." Jacob cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly on the mouth. "I love you, Bells. Are you still concerned about imprinting? Please be honest with me?"

"I can't deny that it still worries me a little, Jake, but I've come to the conclusion that I would rather be with you and take the risk, then be apart and it might never happen. I don't want to run from my worries anymore." Bella said honestly.

Jacob hugged her tight, wrapping his arms around her. "Thank you." He whispered.

* * *

Jacob watched Bella as she slept, they had just made love, with protection this time, and Bella's exhaustion after a full day of cooking had caught up with her. Something was puzzling Jacob, he didn't know what it was but he knew it was something important. It was to do with the way Bella smelt to him, her fragrance had changed slightly. Having such acute senses could be annoying. Jacob stroked her hair away from her head as he pondered what this meant. He could see that she was dreaming, her eyes were moving rapidly under the lids. At times her brow would wrinkle, then a small smile would cross her lips. Her changing expressions fascinated him. He was interrupted in his musings by the sound of Ethan waking up. Jacob slipped out of bed to see to his son, leaving Bella to sleep. He kissed her head gently, then left the room.

* * *

Bella was standing in front of the Black's house, waiting. She clutched onto the hands of the boy and girl who stood either side of her. All three stared eagerly into the distance, expecting to see the person they were waiting for at any moment. The young boy, whose raven black hair was sticking up in all directions, glanced up at her. "Mommy, is daddy coming soon?"

"Yes, Ethan." She reassured him gently. "He promised he would be back by six."

"I can count to six." The little girl said proudly as she smiled at Bella. "I'll count for daddy."

"Show off." Ethan muttered.

"Aww don't be like that, Ethan. You should be proud of Sarah." Bella chided him.

Ethan stuck his tongue out at his sister when he thought Bella wasn't looking. Sarah put her hands behind her ears and waggled her fingers at him,poking her tongue out too. Ethan just glared at her, it was annoying having a sister so close in age. Bella shook her head in amusement at the antics of her children.

"Hush now." She whispered to them. "I think I can see him, look." She pointed into the distance.

The two children were immediately on the alert, scanning the horizon for their father's tall figure. "I can see him." Sarah suddenly squealed, making Ethan jump.

"Where?" He demanded petulantly.

"Right there." Sarah brushed her long fringe out of her eyes. "Can I run to him, mommy?" She begged.

"Go for it." Bella laughed.

"Me too." Ethan announced. "Race you?"

Sarah nodded. Bella released her hold on their hands and she watched proudly as they both took off, running through the tall grass toward their father. Ethan soon outran his sister and reached Jacob first. Bella smiled as she watched Jacob kneel down and pick his son up easily in his strong arms. Sarah finally reached them too and she jumped up and down, begging to be picked up. Bella heard Jacob's familiar laugh as he swept his daughter up in his free arm. He carried them both easily, his eyes now locked on Bella's. It was her turn to run as she sprinted toward the man who held her heart...

* * *

Bella woke up with a jolt, she sat up in the bed, her long hair flowing around her shoulders, as the images of her dream faded from her mind. Her hand flew to her flat stomach as she thought about the little girl she had seen, called Sarah. She had been slightly younger than Ethan. The dream had been an exact recurrence of the vision she had seen on the mountaintop when she had kissed Jacob, just before he left to fight the newborns. That time the vision had been brief and hazy, but her dream had held much more clarity. She had felt and heard every word and emotion as she waited with her children for Jacob to come home.

She glanced down again at her stomach, certain in her mind now that she was pregnant with their daughter. A relieved smile lit up her face. "At least I know what to call you, sweetheart." She murmured. Bella knew in her heart that this vision was assuring her that her future with Jacob was assured, they were going to raise a family. She was his soul mate and he was hers.

* * *

Jacob dumped Ethan's diaper in the bin and closed it. He let out a long held breath, having a keen sense of smell was not an advantage when he was changing his son. Lifting Ethan up in his arms he carried him into the living room and sat on the sofa. Ethan perched on his lap, happy now that he was all clean.

"That last meal went straight through you, didn't it?" Jacob tickled Ethan under the chin, making him giggle.

Bella came out to join them. Jacob was surprised to see her up so soon. The nap had certainly cured her tiredness, she was simply glowing. Once again the unusual fragrance hit him and he tried to think what it could mean.

"How are my two favorite boys?" Bella asked as she sat next to Jacob on the sofa.

"You just missed the main event." Jacob laughed. "I had to change him."

"Rather you then me." Bella joined in his laughter.

"Had a good sleep?" Jacob asked, he thought she looked stunning, her hair was shiny, her pale skin had a soft glow, but it was her eyes that really caught his attention. He could see the happiness shining from them. "What is it?"

Bella took Ethan from him and cuddled him to her chest. "I've got some news to share." She said enigmatically.

"Go on?" Jacob urged. He could see that she was trying not to smile.

"Ethan will soon have a little sister. Jake, I'm pregnant." Bella announced, this time letting the smile spread across her face.

The source of the mystery fragrance finally dawned on Jacob; that was what it was. It was Bella's body letting him know that she was carrying his child. "This is amazing, honey, but how do you know it's going to be a girl?"

Bella kissed little Ethan on his head as she glanced up at Jacob. "You won't believe me when I tell you." She said with a grin.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-this story is co-authored by Augustdarkstar. Thank you all for the lovely reviews. My co-writer has written her first twilight story, published under her pen name. Please check it out! Nikki :)**_

**Part Nine-Alpha**

"So you saw more of the vision?" Jacob asked in wonder.

"Yes. It was so much clearer. Ethan was older and there was a little girl next to him. I called her Sarah. They are the two children I saw in my vision running toward you." Bella replied. "I've been so dense, Jake. My head was telling me all along I never needed to worry about you imprinting, even back then, but I was just too stupid to see it."

Jacob put a hand on her cheek. "Hey, it's okay, Bells. Sometimes fate just plays out a certain way for whatever reason. The main thing is you came back." He stroked her skin with the pad of his thumb.

"You're too forgiving, Jake." Bella said softly.

"I just didn't want to waste any more time being angry or resentful, honey. We've lost so much time already." Jacob leaned in to kiss her.

"I don't deserve you." Bella swiped at a tear that began to fall down her cheek.

"No more tears, Bells." Jacob put his arm around her and they both looked at Ethan, their son's eyes were already closing again as tiredness crept up on him.

"I'll have to wait at least a few days before taking a test to confirm it officially. You know our dad's are going to freak." Bella grimaced at the thought.

"They'll get over it." Jacob said dismissively. "Although it might give Charlie a few more grey hairs."

"Well I'm not going to say anything until after it's confirmed." Bella said decisively.

Jacob looked at her, his expression turning serious. "You can't go back to Jacksonville, not now. Please just stay here."

Bella frowned. "Jake I haven't got a choice, at least in the short term. I need my job."

"Then we'll find you one." Jacob promised.

"In two days?" Bella raised her eyebrows.

"Yes. Not only that, I need to up my game and put this side business I have started on a firmer footing if I want to support us all." Jacob began to make plans in his head.

"Jeez, there's so much to do." Bella suddenly felt overwhelmed.

"We'll cope." Jacob reassured her. "As long as we stay together."

Bella gazed at him affectionately. "Together." She echoed him.

Jacob grinned as he leaned in for another kiss.

* * *

Charlie and Billy arrived back at the Black's house a few hours later, they had stopped off at the local store and bought some cans of beer. Their favorite team had lost another game and they wanted to drown their sorrows.

"How did the dinner go?" Billy asked, his wise eyes studying them both carefully.

"Great." Bella gave him a meaningful glance.

Billy smiled. "That's what I like to hear. Now where's my grandson?"

"Asleep." Jacob interjected. "So don't go waking him up."

Charlie laughed at Billy's crestfallen expression. "Spoken like a true father." He quipped.

Jacob sat down opposite the two men while Bella went back into the kitchen to fix them up a snack. "I want to run something past you both."

"Go on." Charlie said, looking at him with interest.

"Spit it out son."Billy popped open his can and took a drink.

"You know that I have been making the furniture on and off over the last few months, and I've actually sold quite a few pieces."

"You have a talent, Jake." Charlie praised him.

"Thanks." He smiled at Charlie. "I was thinking of actually doing it full time, maybe taking out a loan and making it into a proper business. What do you think?"

Charlie and Billy exchanged a surprised glance. "You're too young to take out a loan, son." Billy advised. "And with my limited income, no bank would let me be your guarantor."

"But I could." Charlie offered.

"You'd do that?" Jacob asked gratefully.

"Jake, you're the closest I have to a son. You are the father to my grandson, so there is no question that I wouldn't be honored to do that for you."

"I promise I'll work hard and pay..."

Charlie held up his hand. "I know, Jake."

"Thanks." Jacob grinned at him as he shook Charlie's hand. "I'm going to tell, Bells."

The two men watched him hurry into the kitchen. "I'm grateful, Charlie." Billy said huskily. "Thank you."

Charlie clapped Billy on the back. "No problem."

"It's a risk you're taking on." Billy pressed.

Charlie smiled. "No it's not. I know Jake can make it work. Anyway it does mean one thing."

"What's that then?" Billy asked him in confusion.

"It means you'll be paying for the beer from now on." He joked.

Billy pulled a face. "Don't bet on it old man."

* * *

Bella cooked them all a small meal and they sat around the table making plans about expanding Jacob's small business. "The overheads will be low." Jacob said as he ate. "I can work out of the garage and extend if necessary. It's the equipment that will be costly."

"You make a list of what you think you need and we'll make up a proper business plan." Charlie suggested.

"I could type it up for you." Bella offered.

"This is shaping up nicely." Billy said happily.

They were interrupted from their meal by a loud knock on the door. The noise woke Ethan, who began to grizzle. "I'll see to Ethan." Bella rose from the table and headed off to Jacob's room.

"I'll get the door." Jacob said irritably. He strode out into the hallway and yanked the door open, he was shocked to see Emily Young standing on his doorstep. Her eyes were red as if she had been crying. "Emily, what's wrong? Is it Sam?"

She nodded, tears began to stream down her face. Jacob had no choice but to lead her inside. Billy and Charlie were astonished to see the crying girl as they watched Jacob settle her on the sofa. "Can you give us a moment?" He said to the two men.

"Of course." Billy led the way out of the room, a curious Charlie following behind.

When Jacob was certain they were out of earshot, he knelt down in front of Emily and took her hand. "What has happened to Sam?"

"He's gone. We got home and everything seemed fine. I was in the kitchen making dinner when we got a phone call from Sue. She was yelling at Sam, angry that he had driven Leah away. Sam became agitated. I tried to talk to him about it, but he just said he'd had enough." Emily's hands were shaking as she spoke. "He left saying he was going after Leah. I tried to stop him but he said this was pack business and I should keep out of it."

Bella came back into the room at that point, carrying Ethan in her arms. She was stunned to see Emily crying her eyes out. "What's wrong?" She asked worriedly.

Jacob motioned for her to come nearer. "Sam has gone after Leah." He whispered.

Fresh tears poured down Emily's face. Bella quickly handed Ethan over to Jacob, then she sat next to the girl and put a sympathetic arm around her. "I'm sure he'll be back soon." She tried to reassure Emily.

"I can't feel it." Emily mumbled.

"Feel what?" Bella asked her gently.

"The imprint bond, I can't feel Sam anymore." Emily rested her head on Bella's shoulder and really began to weep.

Jacob exchanged a look with Bella. "Give Ethan to our dad's, they can look after him. You need to find out what's going on." Bella urged Jacob. "I'll stay with Emily."

"Are you sure?" Jacob checked.

"Go." Bella hugged Emily tighter as the other girl's body began to shake with the force of her sobs. "There's nothing you can do here."

"Thank you." Jacob mouthed gratefully. He sped off to hand Ethan over to his dad, wondering what the hell had happened to break the imprint between Sam and Emily.

* * *

As soon as Jacob phased he sensed Sam. He tried to focus on his whereabouts, he seemed a long way from La Push, if the landscape was anything to go by.

"Where are you, Sam?" Jacob asked him.

He was met with silence. Sam was ignoring him.

"Talk to me." Jacob demanded as he replayed in his head Emily sobbing on the couch. He felt a wave of shame wash through him, it was coming from Sam. "Where are you?"

"I need to find Lee and bring her home." Sam finally answered him.

"She wanted to leave, Sam." Jacob said gently. "You have to let her be."

"But I need to tell her how I really feel." Sam's words were full of despair. "I have to tell her."

"You don't know where she went." Jacob reminded him. "You need to come home."

"Not until I find Lee. Take care of Emily for me. You have to take charge now, Jake. I can't do it anymore." Sam suddenly disappeared from the pack mind; he had phased back into his human form.

"Damn." Jacob stopped running, completely overwhelmed by this latest turn of events. This was the last thing that he needed, even more responsibility dumped on him. He was just getting his own life together. With resignation he began the journey home again, he was going to have to call a pack meeting and let the others know about the temporary change of leadership, although in his gut, Jacob knew that this was probably going to be permanent.

He phased back within the trees just outside his home and quickly got dressed. With a heavy heart he slowly walked back toward the house, wondering how to he was going to explain this to Bella. He just hoped she wouldn't be spooked. As he glanced toward the front of the house Jacob saw her sitting on the bench seat outside waiting for him, little Ethan was perched on her lap dressed in a thick all in one coat. When Bella saw him walking toward them she lifted Ethan up and made him wave. Jacob smiled at his son as he giggled.

"Hey." Jacob sat down next to Bella on the bench seat, taking Ethan from her and kissing the top of his head. "How's Emily?"

"Heartbroken." Bella admitted. "She's asleep on your bed at the moment. I'll take her home later if she's ready. Did you contact Sam?"

"You could say that." Jacob said bitterly.

"What do you mean?" Bella placed a hand on his arm.

"He's gone after Leah. I have no idea where he is or when he's coming back." Jacob looked at her, worry written all over his face.

"Jake?" Bella said in alarm.

Jacob sighed. "As of today I am the new Alpha of the La Push wolf pack." He announced.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-This story is co-authored by Augustdarkstar. Thank you so much for the lovely reviews. I really appreciate it. Nikki :)**_

**Part Ten-Sorting Things Out**

Bella and Jacob sat quietly on the bench seat together. Ethan had fallen asleep and Bella cuddled him to her chest as they both pondered the latest turn of events. "I remember you told me once that being the Alpha was your birthright." Bella was the first to break the silence.

"But I didn't want it, any of it." Jacob sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "Is this too much Bells, are you going to leave now?"

"Too much?" Bella tried to reign in her irritation at his lack of faith in her, although she had to understand that it would take time to prove to him that she wasn't going to run again. She rested one hand on his shoulder. "Jake, I'm staying alright, get that into your head. Whatever this means for us, we'll cope."

Jacob turned his head to look up at her, some of the worry eased from his face. "Thank you." He said simply.

"Do the others know yet?" Bella asked.

"No, I'm going to have to call a meeting and tell them. We have effectively lost two of our numbers until Sam and Leah return." Jacob rubbed a hand over his face as he wondered how this was going to effect the patrol schedules. It would mean longer shifts and less time with Ethan and Bella, he couldn't help but feel resentment toward Sam because of it.

Bella was quiet for a moment before speaking. "What if they don't come back, Jake?"

"They will." He said with certainty. "The pull toward the pack is too strong."

"What if the longing to be free, happy and in love is stronger?" Bella suggested gently. "Staying away may be the only option for the both of them to be together."

"I don't know." Jacob said sadly. "It's all such a mess."

Bella adjusted her sleeping son in her arms as she stared out at the darkened horizon. "Maybe it's time to disband the pack then."

"What?" Jacob was completely stunned by her suggestion. "That's impossible."

Bella scrutinised him carefully. "Why is it impossible, Jake? How long are you all expected to carry this burden? Haven't you all done your duty? Really when was the last time any of you saw a vampire in this area?"

"There has been no activity since the newborn battle." He conceded.

"Then perhaps it's time you negotiated with the elders and set a firm date for disbanding the pack." Bella suggested cautiously.

Jacob looked at her in wonder. "Do you realise how much I love you?" He said with a slow smile.

Bella smiled back at him in relief, glad that he wasn't angry with her for suggesting such a thing. "I love you too."

Jacob put his arm across her shoulders and she rested her head against him, both of them finally seeing a glimmer of hope for the future.

* * *

Jacob managed to get his dad alone for a few moments while Charlie was occupied with Ethan and Bella. He told him about the situation with Sam and then Bella's idea for setting a date for when the pack could finally wind down their duties and return to a more normal life. "What do you think?"

"I think that is a good idea. It shows mature thinking. None of us expected you all to carry this burden indefinitely. Times have changed since the last pack were around, and even then they had periods of rest depending on how much vampire activity was in the area. I will call a meeting and put the idea forward. I cannot see any problems with having an open discussion about setting a firm date." Billy smiled at his son proudly.

"Thanks dad. I need to go and see the others now and let them know what has happened with Sam." Jacob told him. "I'll just go and say goodbye to Bells and Ethan."

"Alright, see you soon." Billy watched his son go, noticing that he was already beginning to take on the leadership, even if he wasn't aware of it.

* * *

Emily finally emerged from Jacob's room an hour after he had left. She shuffled into the living room and curled up on the sofa. Bella handed Ethan over to her dad, who took him and joined Billy in the kitchen so the girls could have some space to talk. "How are you?" Bella asked her gently.

"I don't know." Emily seemed dazed, as if she wasn't really there.

"Can I get you anything? Are you hungry? I could make some food." Bella offered.

"No, I don't think I could eat anything." Emily pushed her hair out of her face, revealing the tracks of her tears. Bella looked at her helplessly, not sure what to do.

"I wish I could help you, Emily." Bella admitted. "But I don't know how."

Emily sighed and looked at her hands, the small ring that adorned her left finger glinted in the dim light. "All I ever wanted was to be a wife and mother. I like taking care of people. I was never one of these girls who had big ambitions. When I met Sam and he imprinted on me, I felt like my destiny had been assured. We moved in together, got engaged and began to build a life. His brothers were like an extended part of our family. I loved it all, Bella. I was happy...the only downside was hurting my cousin."

Bella remained silent, she could tell that Emily just needed to unburden herself.

"Then," she continued, her eyes faraway as she became lost in memories. "Leah phased unexpectedly. The life I had begun to build with Sam began to crumble around me, although I tried to deny it. Sam refused to name a wedding day, he spent more time away from the house. I could sense he was conflicted. Having Leah in his head was wearing him down and all his old feelings for her came tumbling out."

"But I clung to the hope that it would all go away, I mean our imprint bond was strong. I was his destiny, right?" Her dark eyes pleaded with Bella for some sort of understanding, but Bella just couldn't give it to her. She would never understand how Emily could have betrayed her cousin in such a way and take the love of her life from her.

"I want to sympathize with you, Emily, but I can't. How could you have taken Sam away from Leah in the first place? You could have chosen to have him in your life in other ways. Why as a lover?" Bella hadn't meant to ask her so bluntly, but the question just slipped out.

Emily's expression became sullen. "Because he was my destiny. I had been waiting my whole life for someone like him to love me. The spirits chose me to be his mate, not Leah. I could not ignore fate."

Bella noted a hint of jealousy in Emily's voice every time she mentioned her cousin's name. It was obvious what was really behind her decision, no matter how she tried to pretty it up for herself. "Do you want me to drive you home?" Bella suggested, getting tired of the other girls company, her empathy had run out for Emily.

"I have no home." Emily retorted bitterly. Her expression then became unbelievably sad as she stared at her ring again. "He's never coming home to me, is he?"

"Honestly?" Bella said. "I doubt it."

Emily gave her a dark look. "You are very direct aren't you?"

"I don't believe in sugar coating the truth anymore. I did enough of that in the past and hurt a lot of people because of it." Bella confessed.

"Yes you did." Emily got up from the sofa and smoothed her dress down, combing her long fringe back over her face with her fingers. "I would like to leave now if you don't mind. Can I use the phone?"

Bella got up too. "Of course, I'm sure Billy won't mind. I can give you a lift."

"No." Emily said firmly. "I am going to call my sister to come and collect me. I don't want to be alone. I think it best if I stay with her for the foreseeable future."

"Okay." Bella could think of nothing else to say.

Emily glanced down at her ring again, before slipping it from her finger. She held it out to Bella. "Give this to Sam for me when he gets back." A tear slid down her cheek as she pressed it into Bella's open palm.

"I will." Bella promised.

Emily wiped at her eyes and then turned to use the phone.

* * *

"You mean he just took off." Jared raged as he paced back and forth in front of his brothers.

"It wasn't quite like that." Jacob told him. "We all know Sam has been suffering for a long time."

"Still to just bail like that." Paul said in disgust. "He is supposed to be our leader."

Jacob hesitated before telling them that he was now in charge. There was a reason he had wanted to do it while they were all in their human forms. There would be less chance of a fight starting, especially in Paul's case. Jacob could see Lahote's fists clenching already.

"So who is going to lead us now?" Embry questioned, a small smile playing about his lips. He already knew.

Jacob looked at him meaningfully. "Me." He declared simply.

Right on cue Paul was in his face. "No fucking way. I will not take orders from someone who shirked the responsibility in the first place."

Jacob pushed Paul back, he was invading his personal space. "Calm down." He yelled at him.

Quil and Embry exchanged a knowing look. They made sure to keep close in case it kicked off further, although they were interested to see, as was Jared and Seth, how Jacob would handle his first test as leader.

Paul's limbs were still trembling. "I don't take orders from a flake." He seethed.

"You will have to accept the change, Lahote. Don't make me force you." Jacob's voice was quiet but there was an undercurrent of authority in his tone.

Paul still refused to back down. He stepped forward again, a grim smile on his face. "Make me, Black." He sneered.

"You asked for it." Jacob warned him before phasing on the fly.

Paul was so stunned that it took him a moment to react, he barely had time to phase himself before the large russet wolf was on top of him, pinning his silver grey wolf to the ground, his teeth bared as he growled at him.

"You will accept my leadership and you will obey me." Jacob roared through the pack mind.

Paul's wolf whined helplessly as he struggled to push Jacob off of him, but he just wasn't strong enough. Jacob had him pinned too securely. "You will submit." Jacob issued his first Alpha command and Paul's wolf instantly became still.

Jacob stepped back and released Paul, issuing one last order. "Go and patrol the borders to burn off your anger. I don't want to see your sorry ass back here for the rest of the day."

The silver grey wolf rolled onto its belly in a submissive posture before running off into the forest.

Jacob phased back, wincing as he realized he had shredded another set of clothes. The others looked at him with renewed respect. He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at what remained of his pack. "Now I've got another suggestion to put to you and I think you're going to like it."

* * *

Bella was changing Ethan on Jacob's bed when his window opened suddenly, startling her. She just managed to stifle a scream as she saw that it was Jacob climbing through. Her hand flew to her mouth as she realized he was completely naked.

"What happened?" She asked, not being able to stop the laughter escaping her lips. Ethan giggled too when he heard her laugh.

"Paul happened." Jacob said irritably. "He kicked off and I had to phase fast, shredding my clothes in the process. I haven't done that since the early days."

Bella gave him a sympathetic smile. "I wouldn't mind you walking around like that all the time." She gave him a flirtatious wink.

"I think your dad may have something to say about that." Jacob grinned at her, finally getting over his pique.

"Spoilsport." She picked Ethan up and ticked his belly. "Daddy ruins all the fun, yes he does." She cooed at him. Ethan wriggled about, giggling.

Jacob pulled on another pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He came up behind Bella and embraced her, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Well I've told the others about your suggestion and they are all for it, especially Quil and Jared. Now the next hurdle is the elders."

"I can't see them kicking up too much of a fuss as long as it's an agreed time frame." Bella said reassuringly.

"We'll see." Jacob made a funny face at Ethan, making his son beam at him. "Where is Emily by the way?"

"She's gone to stay with her sister." Bella told him. "She gave me her engagement ring to pass to Sam. I think she has accepted it's over between them now. She seemed resigned to the fact."

Jacob was shocked at this piece of news. "If only there was a way to let Sam know."

"Can't you tell him when he is phased?" Bella asked in confusion.

"He has been deliberately staying human to avoid us tracking him." Jacob kissed the nape of her neck.

Bella turned around in his arms and rested her head on his chest, Ethan cradled between them. "I'm so glad that we're together." She whispered.

"Me too honey, me too." Jacob replied, wrapping his strong arms around them both.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-this story is co-authored by Augustdarkstar. Thank you so much for the sweet reviews. Nikki :)**_

**Part Eleven-Charlie's Suspicions**

Bella and Charlie ended up staying the night at the Black's house. Bella and Jacob drove back to the Swan house to collect a few essentials for Bella and Ethan, then came back. When they all retired for the night, Bella automatically followed Jacob to his room. Charlie had a coughing fit and Billy had to slap him on the back. He gave both his daughter and Jacob a sour look as he tried to make himself comfortable on the couch. He didn't say anything about it, much to their relief.

The next morning Bella got up early, leaving everyone sleeping. Ethan was already wide awake too, so she gave him his breakfast first and then prepared everyone else's. The three men finally emerged an hour later, led to the kitchen by the delicious smells emanating from it. Charlie rubbed his aching back.

"Bad night, Chief?" Billy quipped as he eagerly rolled his chair to the table, reaching across to grab some toast.

"Yes I did have a bad night." Charlie grouched. "I'm not getting any younger you know."

"Oh we know." Billy said as he bit into his toast. "The looks are always the first to go."

"Very funny." Charlie shot him a glare. "At least I had looks to begin with."

"Your jealousy is so unbecoming from a man your age." Billy laughed as Charlie grabbed some toast and began to spread butter on it.

Jacob went over to Ethan, who was playing with his food. He had already eaten and was fiddling around with the leftovers. "Morning little guy. Did you get mommy up early again?"

Ethan began whirling his arms around in his excitement at being spoken to by his daddy. The bits of food he had clutched in his little fists sprayed over Jacob. Bella laughed as she watched him wipe some flecks from his face. "That'll teach you."

"Yeah." Jacob took a cloth and cleaned the rest up. "Need any help, honey?"

"No, I'm good, just sit down and I'll serve the rest." Bella waved her hand at him distractedly. Jacob gave her a kiss on the cheek as he went to join their dads at the table.

* * *

When Bella had finished serving everyone else she finally sat down herself. She took two slices of dry toast and cut them in half. Charlie noticed she was only picking at her food and that her complexion appeared paler then normal. "Are you feeling well, kiddo?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She lied. She was feeling nauseous, a sure sign to her that she was definitely in the family way again.

Jacob looked at her meaningfully. He took her hand and squeezed it in solidarity. Bella gave him a wan smile. Ethan began to cry, feeling a bit ignored. Jacob got up and pulled his son out of his high chair. He sat him on his lap as he finished his breakfast one handed. Bella was still struggling with hers. She could feel her dad's eyes on her, he had a suspicious expression on his face as he studied her.

"You know your mother used to turn white like you just before she was sick." He said suddenly.

"Dad." Bella spluttered, choking on her piece of toast.

Jacob rubbed her back in soothing circles as he frowned at Charlie. Billy just looked at them, feeling completely bewildered. "Why did you say that you old fool? We're trying to eat here."

Charlie sat back in his chair and crossed his arms as he glared at Jacob. "Been sowing your seeds again son?"

Billy choked on his coffee, spraying it all over his shirt. "What the hell are you talking about old man?" He complained.

Charlie watched Bella turn paler, as what little color she had faded from her face. She glanced to the side at Jacob who was in a staring contest with Charlie. Her stomach churned and she suddenly pushed her chair back, quickly running for the bathroom. A tic along Charlie's cheek began to move as he watched her leave. "I see my suspicions are correct."

Billy was still not getting it. He looked between his son and Charlie, who were still glaring at each other. "Will someone fill me in?" He demanded.

"It seems that your son takes after you." Charlie huffed as he tore his gaze away from Jacob and glared at Billy instead.

"What does that mean?" Billy demanded again. "What is your problem? One bad night on the couch and your attacking everyone like a bear with a sore head."

"It means that your offspring has got mine pregnant again. Bells is in the bathroom right now because she is suffering with morning sickness." Charlie seethed.

Billy's head whipped around to Jacob, who was holding Ethan in front of him like a shield. He gave Billy a sheepish smile. "Surprise." He said weakly.

"But...but...I mean seriously?" Billy said in disbelief. "Bella hasn't been back a week yet and you already..." he ran out of words. "I guess you do take after me."

"Is that all you have to say about it?" Charlie demanded.

Ethan clapped his hands in delight as he watched his two grandfathers stare daggers at each other. Jacob stood up silently. "I don't think we're going to be getting congratulated any time soon. Lets go check on mommy." He walked toward the bathroom, leaving the two older men to argue among themselves.

* * *

Bella sagged against the cool bathroom tiles and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. She hadn't suffered with morning sickness with Ethan and counted herself lucky. It seemed this time she wasn't going to escape it. She sighed in resignation as she thought about her dad's reaction. Who would have guessed he would have noticed the signs? She wasn't looking forward to the interrogation. The door opened slightly and Jacob peered around. He was holding a smiling Ethan in his arms.

"Are you okay, Bells?" He asked in concern.

Bella struggled onto her feet. "I'm fine. I suppose I better get used to this."

"Second time around, huh?" Jacob said in sympathy.

"No, I never suffered with this while carrying Ethan." Bella replied unthinkingly.

There was an awkward silence for a moment. "Jake, I'm so sorry. I didn't think." She apologised.

Jacob took a deep breath and gave her an understanding smile. "It's okay, honey. Don't stress."

"But Jake..." Bella said imploringly.

Jacob touched her cheek gently with his hand. "It's fine, Bells, stop worrying. I'll get to experience it this time round."

Bella placed her hand over his. "What the morning sickness?" She teased him gently.

Jacob laughed as he leaned down to kiss her. "Yeah, that too."

* * *

With Jacob's arm around her shoulders, Bella finally plucked up the courage to leave the bathroom and face her dad. He and Billy had finally stopped bickering and were now suddenly united in their disapproval of the latest turn of events. They both sat in the same position, arms crossed and grim expressions on their faces. If it hadn't been such a serious situation, Bella would have laughed.

"Well go on then, out with it." She sank down in one of the armchairs, Jacob stood beside the chair holding Ethan.

"How could you be so reckless, kiddo?" Charlie questioned her, disapproval clear in his tone. "The first time is understandable, just. But twice?"

"We were just so excited to be back together dad." Bella pleaded with him.

"Yeah," Jacob chipped in. "We celebrated."

"Evidently." Charlie snapped. Billy rolled his eyes at his son's explanation.

Bella rubbed her aching stomach. "I know this all seems rushed to you, and maybe it is, but Jake and I are happy to be giving Ethan a little sister."

Jacob put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Yes we are. We know we can deal with this." He said firmly.

"How do you know its going to be a girl?" Billy asked her curiously.

Bella placed a hand on her flat stomach and smiled at him wistfully. "A mother's instinct. I know just what to name her too." She glanced up at Jacob who was smiling down at her.

Charlie's face softened as he looked at his daughter; she was glowing, despite her pale complexion, she looked happy. "Are you going to call her Sarah?"

"Yes." Bella turned back to look at them both. "After her grandmother."

Moisture pooled in both Billy and Jacob's eyes as they thought about Sarah Black, she was never far from any of their thoughts and it was a fitting tribute that the first girl born in the family should be named after her.

"She would have loved that." Billy said huskily. "Congratulations to you both."

"Thank you." Bella smiled at him then turned to Charlie. "Dad?"

Charlie gazed at his daughter, huddled close to her son and Jacob, they looked a solid little family. He got up from his seat and walked over to her, leaning down to give her a hug. "Congratulations, kiddo." He whispered.

Bella felt a tear slip out of the corner of her eye. "I love you dad." She said simply.

"I love you too, kiddo." Charlie replied back to her.

* * *

Charlie and Billy sat on the back porch of the Black house, they had retreated out there to give their children some privacy. Ethan had fallen asleep, finally succumbing to tiredness after keeping everyone entertained with his antics.

"Well who would have thought my daughters brief visit would have ended up like this." Charlie said in wonder as he popped open his can of beer and gulped it down.

"You can say that again. At the beginning of the week I had no idea I was a grandfather and now I will have a granddaughter to look forward to meeting." Billy opened his own can and took a long drink.

"Do you think they'll be alright? It's a lot of responsibility for ones so young." Charlie said worriedly.

Billy glanced at his old friend, a sentimental glint in his dark eyes. "Did you see how happy they were, Charlie?"

"Yes." Charlie conceded. "I've never seen Bells look like that, ever."

"Well there's the only answer you need." Billy said firmly. He clinked his can against Charlie's. "Here's to Jake, Bella, Ethan and little Sarah when she finally arrives."

"You're an old fool." Charlie replied fondly as he clinked their cans together again, before taking another long drink.

* * *

Jacob and Bella wandered outside to check on their dads as it was getting late. The night was drawing in and they had expected them to come in hours ago. To their astonishment they found the two men fast asleep. Billy's chin was resting on his chest as he snoozed and Charlie was sprawled across the bench seat, a half empty can still clutched in his hand.

"I don't believe it." Bella shook her head in disbelief. "They are going to have serious hangovers in the morning." She began to pick up the used cans and piled them in a heap.

"Serves them right." Jacob said wryly. "Ugh I'm the one who has got to move them."

Bella giggled at his disgusted face. She reached up and pinched his left bicep. "It will put those muscles to good use." She teased.

"We could always leave them out here and make use of the bed without any interruptions." Jacob suggested, only half joking.

Bella looked tempted for a moment until she glanced down at her dad, who was now sliding off the bench seat. "As lovely as that would be, I would feel guilty if these two drunkards ended up with hypothermia because I wanted to enjoy myself." She said regretfully.

"I suppose." Jacob said grudgingly. "Well you push my dad's chair in and I'll try and move Charlie."

Bella gave him a wink as she took the handles of the wheelchair and pushed Billy inside. Jacob looked at a comatose Charlie and sighed. "Come on future father in law." He put his hands under Charlie's arms and hauled him upright.

"You're under arrest..." Charlie's eyes flared open before closing again, his head resting on Jacob's shoulder.

Jacob pulled a face again before half carrying Charlie inside.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	13. Chapter 13

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-thank you for the lovely reviews on this story. Sorry for the delay in posting but Augustdarkstar has been very busy writing her new story so I will be finishing this story alone. Nikki :)**_

**Part Thirteen-Tribal Council**

Old Quil knocked his gavel on the wooden table and called for silence. Everyone in the hall quieted immediately. The pack were all huddled in a group, with Jacob at the front. They were facing the tribal elders, who were all sitting in a long line behind a thick wooden table. Old Quil, as the head of the elders, was seated in the centre of the group, with the others, including Sue and Billy, flanking him on either side.

"Step forward Jacob Black." Old Quil intoned in a serious voice.

Jacob did as he asked. He felt like rolling his eyes at Old Quil's pompous nature.

"You are now the Alpha of the La Push wolf pack and therefore represent your brothers and sister's interests from here on in?" Old Quil said solemnly.

"I do." Jacob said impatiently. He glanced to the side to see his dad and Sue exchanging amused glances. The other elders wore the same serious expressions as Old Quil.

"You are now free to present your request to the elders." Old Quil banged his gavel again.

Jacob felt like ripping the thing out of the old man's hand. He admired the way Sam had managed to put up with the council for so long and keep his cool. He stood tall and stared the old men down. "I'm here to ask the council's permission to agree to a date when my brothers and I can be relieved of our duties as protectors of the tribe and resume a normal life."

There was silence as the old men stared at him aghast. Old Quil's lips pursed as he studied Jacob carefully. "What has brought this about? In all the tribe's history we have never heard such a request brought before the council."

The pack began muttering among themselves, not pleased with the elders attitude. Jacob demanded they be quiet and they stopped talking instantly. Jacob returned Old Quil's gaze steadily. "As I understand it, the last wolf pack did not have to seek permission from the tribal council. Ephraim was the chief of not only the tribe but the elders too. In his wisdom he knew that his pack were entitled to periods of rest. Not only that but times were different back then. The tribe and the cold ones were both nomadic by nature and would often cross paths much more than today. There has been no vampire activity since the newborn fight."

"Just because there have been no cold ones recently doesn't mean they are not still about." Jeremiah, who was sitting on Old Quil's left, pointed out.

Jacob did not disagree. "I am not disputing that fact, but you cannot expect us all to phase indefinitely. We deserve a shot at a normal life. We have come here today to negotiate an agreeable time scale when we can begin the process of giving up the wolf."

"That's impossible." Micah said coldly. "The tribe needs protecting."

Jacob narrowed his eyes. "Are you refusing to heed our request?"

"Yes." Micah snapped. "You have been given a gift young man. You owe it to the tribe to fulfil your destiny. There can be no time limit placed on such things. Your request is denied."

The pack stepped forward and surrounded Jacob in a circle. His eyes were blazing as he glared at Micah. "Are you all in agreement with this fool?" He demanded.

Micah stood up and banged his fist on the table. "You will show me some respect young man. You are not in a position to..."

"Oh shut up you old fool." Billy yelled over at Micah.

The elders turned in his direction, staring at him in anger. "Do not interfere Billy Black." Old Quil said sternly.

"I will interfere." Billy locked eyes with Old Quil. "I am the chief of this tribe and I have the right to make sure that everyone is given a fair hearing."

"Fair hearing?" Micah mocked him. "You have no rights in this matter, you are too close to the situation and as such your judgement is impaired."

Sue's face was turning red, her temper was as quick as her daughter Leah's. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Billy and I have every right. I was forced to take my husband's place on this council and I have to say I am surprised he managed to put up with you all so long. Who gives you the right to meddle with people's lives? My daughter and the rest of the pack have placed themselves in danger day after day protecting your sorry asses, with no reward. They deserve to be allowed to have a date from when they can live their lives in peace."

Old Quil banged his gavel down again. "Order." He shouted. "Sit down Sue Clearwater, you are making an exhibition of yourself."

Sue glared at the old man, sparks shooting from her eyes. "DO NOT DARE ORDER ME ABOUT YOU OLD..."

"Sue, enough." Billy warned her. He touched her arm gently. Sue glanced down at him and gritted her teeth. She sat back down in her chair, trying to regain control over her emotions.

Jacob stepped right up to the table, he towered above the old men. These men were supposed to be his elders and a source of guidance. Instead all he had seen were a bunch of idiots who had only their own interests at heart. Quil had warned him that his grandfather could be belligerent and the other council members were no better. Not for the first time, Jacob wondered how his dad managed to negotiate with the council on a daily basis on matters that were important to the tribe.

All eyes turned onto him and he stared each one down individually. He leaned forward, his fingers resting on the table. Even though he was clearly livid, he managed to sound calm. "Now you listen to me. I am the Alpha of the pack and I will one day take over from my father as chief of this tribe. As Sue Clearwater reminded you, my brothers and I put our lives on the line daily to protect our lands. We do it not just out of duty, but because we love our home. I thought that was what you all stood for too, but after today's performance I can clearly see that is not the case."

"How dare you?" Micah blustered. "We don't have to listen to this."

"SIT DOWN." Jacob roared at him. Micah fell back in his chair in shock, the other elders stared at Jacob open mouthed.

Billy and Sue exchanged gleeful glances as the pack began to cheer their new leader. Jacob tried to keep the smile from his face as he gently warned his brothers to remain quiet. He took everyone by surprise again by leaping up onto the table and pacing along it's length. "Now I have been doing some investigating of my own over the last couple of days and also having a lengthy conversation with my father about exactly what has been going on with this council. You all meet once a week to discuss exactly what needs to be done to help the tribe move forward and raise funds. I know that my dad has demanded on several occasions to know where the money raised has been going and every time you refuse to give him details. Well I have found out exactly where it has been going." He stopped in front of Micah, who was looking up at him with fear in his eyes. "You are the treasurer are you not?"

"What are you implying?" Micah's voice shook as he spoke.

"I don't need to imply, I know." Jacob jumped down from the table and called out to Seth to open the doors to the hall.

Seth did as he was told, he ran over to the large double doors and unlocked them. Charlie and his deputy, Mac, were standing outside waiting. Charlie greeted Seth before marching into the hall and standing beside Jacob.

"What is this?" Old Quil demanded.

"I called Chief Swan when I found out exactly where all the money we have raised over the years has been going." Jacob stepped to one side and gestured over to Micah, who now looked apoplectic. His tan skin had a grey tinge and he had a furtive expression on his face. The other elders turned to stare at him in astonishment.

Charlie strode over to Micah and began to read him his rights. "Micah Seahawk I am placing you under arrest for the embezzlement of tribal funds. You have the right to remain silent when questioned. Anything you say or do can be used against you in a court of law..."

As Charlie read Micah his rights, the pack swarmed around Jacob and began congratulating and praising him. It was chaotic for a while and only calmed down once Charlie and his deputy handcuffed Micah and led him from the hall. Charlie winked at Jacob as he passed, causing Jacob to grin. Once they had left Jacob told his brothers to stay quiet while he spoke to the remaining elders. He saw his dad smile at him proudly as he took charge.

"Now are you all prepared to listen to our request?" Jacob asked again.

Old Quil swallowed nervously as he nodded. "Yes of course." He mumbled, chastened.

"Good." Jacob pulled up a chair and sat opposite them. "Now the first thing on the agenda is you need to find a new, trustworthy treasurer. I suggest Sue Clearwater."

"But she's a woman." Jeremiah bristled.

"So?" Jacob questioned. "Are you suggesting she is not capable to do the job because she is a woman?"

"No he isn't." Old Quil interjected. "We will abide by your wisdom."

"That's wise. Now I would like to have a sensible discussion about the time scale when my brothers and I can quit phasing. Are you prepared to talk now?" Jacob looked each elder in the eye.

Old Quil and his compatriots all nodded, even Jeremiah. "Go ahead, Jacob Black." Old Quil offered, his pompous tone now sounding flat.

Jacob sat back in his chair and began to talk.

* * *

Bella lay on her back, holding Ethan in the air as she kept blowing raspberries on his belly, making him giggle in delight. "You like that, don't you?" She cooed.

Ethan flapped his arms as if he was going to take off, making Bella laugh. When she laughed he did too. The front door opened making her turn her head, Jacob, who was pushing his dad in front of him, entered the house. She got up swiftly, cradling Ethan in her arms as she looked at him expectantly. "How did it go?"

Billy grinned as he rolled his chair over to her. He held out his arms for his grandson. Bella handed Ethan to him carefully. "I'll let Jake fill you in. Let me just say I have never been more proud of him then I was today."

Bella smiled as she went over to Jacob and slipped her arms around his waist. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly on the lips. "Three years." He told her. "If there is no significant vampire activity during that time then it was agreed we can try and stop phasing."

"Oh Jake." Bella crowed in delight. She kissed him hard on the lips. "This is great news."

"Yeah." Jacob grinned at her, he thought she looked so cute when she was excited.

"What happened to Micah? Did my dad arrest him?" Bella asked.

"He sure did. You should have seen the elders faces, they couldn't believe it. He's been defrauding the tribes funds for years to line his own pockets. It has certainly shaken everything up. Sue will take over his position as treasurer. That means the money will go to where it's most needed at last." Jacob said.

"That's great. Your dad is right, you should be proud of what you achieved today, Jake." Bella hugged him tight.

Jacob took her face in his hands and kissed her again. "Everything feels like its slotting into place. All we need is for Sam and Leah to come home."

"And for me to find a job." Bella said ruefully.

"We'll sort that out honey, don't worry." Jacob reassured her. "Then we can start making plans to get married."

Bella raised her eyebrows at him. She waved her bare hand at him. "Engagement ring?"

Jacob laughed and kissed her fingers. "I'm right on it." He said.

"Good." Bella teased him.

They heard Ethan giggling as Billy came back into the room, his grandson perched on his lap. "I think this calls for a celebration. I've just called your dad and he has offered to take us all out for dinner."

"Really?" Bella said in surprise.

"He sure did. The Chief only opens his wallet once a year so I'm going to take full advantage. What do you say, Ethan?" Billy tickled Ethan under his chin, sending his grandson off into another fit of giggles.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	14. Chapter 14

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-thanks for the lovely reviews on the last chapter. Nikki :)**_

**Part Fourteen-Separation and a Nasty Surprise**

Bella sighed in disappointment as she received another rejection from the store manager in Port Angeles. She had been scouting around La Push, Forks and finally Port Angeles for a job, but each time when the interviewer found out she was expecting, the shutters came down and she was summarily dismissed. It now looked certain that she would have to travel back to Jacksonville after all, at least temporarily, to finalize the details of her move and see about getting references from her old job. She had been working as a teaching assistant, hoping at some point to retrain as a proper kindergarten teacher like Renee. It was her mother who had got her the job at the same school she worked for. Bella was not looking forward to telling Jacob the news, he would not be happy.

She slowly climbed into her rental car and switched on the engine. She didn't drive off straight away, instead she stared out of the window at the passer's by, her mood darkening with every second that passed. Life had been flowing along smoothly; she was finally happy for the first time in her life but now she was going to have to leave the man she loved behind in order to sort out her old life in Jacksonville. To her it felt like she had never lived there. In the short time she had been back in Forks, everything had changed. With a heavy heart, Bella pulled onto the road and began the long drive back to Forks.

* * *

"I have no choice, Jake. I have tried everywhere." Bella told him, holding onto his hands tightly. "I'm sorry, but I have to go back, at least for a couple of weeks. I was hoping mom could just ship my stuff down here, but I need to go and see the principal of the school in person. If I leave in the middle of a semester it doesn't look good and I need her to give me a good reference and recommendation when I apply for a grant to study teaching."

Jacob felt sick inside. He knew what she was saying made sense, but the thought of being without her and Ethan, even for a couple of weeks, filled him with dread. He wouldn't be able to protect them in another state. He couldn't even afford to go back with her, money was tight. Charlie had applied for the loan and been accepted. They were waiting for the funds to be transferred over so they could begin buying the specialist equipment that Jacob needed.

"There must be another way, surely?" He pleaded with her.

"I wish there was." Bella said regretfully. "But there isn't. I have a return ticket and have no money for another. It has to be now."

"This is fucking ridiculous." Jacob swore, he pulled her into his arms and held her tight against him. "I should be able to afford to go with you."

"It's not always easy, Jake." Bella hugged him back, resting her head on his chest. "But we have been through harder times. Once I work my two weeks notice, I'll have enough money to pay for a one way ticket back for me and Ethan."

"I don't like this." Jacob said in despair, he clutched her closer to him, his heart hammering in his chest.

"I know." Bella whispered sadly. "But we will get through this."

Jacob rested his head on hers, worry etched all over his face.

* * *

Bella sat on the plane with Ethan beside her, he was strapped into a special baby seat and was already asleep. Parting from Jacob at the airport had been awful. They were both holding onto each other desperately, as if they were never going to see each other again. Charlie had to almost pry Jacob away from her and Ethan. Her dad was upset himself, he had no spare money to give to her, everything he had, including his savings had been thrown at Jacob's new business venture. She had hugged Billy goodbye, asking him to keep an eye out for Jacob. He had nodded his head as she handed Ethan to him, so he could hug his grandson before he left.

With tears in her eyes, Bella turned to look out of the small window. The clouds were grey and the sky dark, matching her melancholy mood. The next time she was out in the open air the climate would be entirely different. She closed her eyes, one hand resting by Ethan as she let the tears roll down her face.

* * *

"Baby girl." Renee cried out as she tore away from Phil's side and over to Bella. She hugged her tightly, squeezing the breath from her body. " I am so glad you're back. Where's my lovely boy?" She bent down and picked Ethan's carry seat up, cooing at him.

"Mom." Bella chided her. "Don't get him overexcited."

"Don't be a grouch baby girl. Ethan loves his nanny, oh yes he does." Renee rubbed his head with her hand. Ethan's lips began to wobble as Renee's enthusiasm overwhelmed him. He began to cry.

Bella gritted her teeth as she quickly took him back from Renee, she unclipped him from the seat and jiggled him about until he calmed down. Phil came up to them and gave Bella a wry smile. He discreetly pulled Renee back to his side. He knew his wife could be a little hyper, especially when it came to her daughter and grandson. "Let me take your bags, Bella. The car is just outside."

"Thank you." Bella said with relief. She felt Renee link arms with her as she carried Ethan in her arms.

"I have a surprise at home for you." Renee confided.

"Why mom? You didn't spend too much, did you?" Bella asked worriedly. She knew how careless Renee could be with money.

"No, this cost absolutely nothing." Renee replied, raising her eyebrows and giving a wink.

Bella groaned inwardly. Her mother's surprises were usually not pleasant ones. They followed behind Phil out into the open air. The heat and the bright sun hit her straight away and she winced, already missing the cooler air of Forks. She quickly got into the car and put Ethan back in his seat, making sure to strap him in well. Phil had already put her luggage away and he joined Renee in the front. "Is everyone ready?" He asked cheerfully.

"Yes." Renee clapped her hands excitedly, disturbing Ethan again, who had just begun to go to sleep. Bella shook her head in annoyance as she tried to soothe her son for the second time.

* * *

Bella was exhausted by the time they reached the pretty one storey house that Renee and Phil rented. It was in a quiet cul-de-sac with only a few neighbours, the view from the back of the house was stunning. She breathed in the sea air, it reminded her of First beach and home. Phil took out her luggage and went ahead to open up. Renee was once again holding onto her arm, chattering animatedly about the surprise she had waiting inside the house. Bella barely listened to her as she carried Ethan inside. She just wanted to get him settled so she could call Jacob.

Renee dragged her toward the main part of the house, she was like an over eager child as she told Bella to close her eyes. Bella put Ethan down and did as her mom asked, it was easier to comply to her wishes in the long run. Renee pushed her forward and giggled. "Ta dah, open your eyes baby girl, you have a visitor."

Bella frowned as she opened her eyes, she was surprised that the curtains had been drawn over all the windows, blocking out the bright light but when she saw who occupied the room it was obvious why.

A voice she had hoped to never hear again greeted her. "Hello love." Edward stepped out of the darkened corner and gazed at her with his golden eyes.

* * *

Jacob kept staring at the phone. He had been waiting impatiently for Bella to call. He had worked out how long it would take her to reach her mom's home. She had promised him faithfully that she would ring to let him know that she was fine. Ever since she had left he had felt worried, something was niggling at him, like some kind of sixth sense, that something was not quite right. For the hundredth time he wished he hadn't let her go.

"You are going to have to calm down, Jake." Billy warned his son as he saw Jacob hover near the phone. "What are you going to be like when she is gone for the whole two weeks?"

"She said she would call." Jacob snapped.

"Give her time, Jake. She has Ethan to see too, remember." Billy reminded him. He shuffled the pile of bills he had been going through.

"I know." Jacob began to pace restlessly.

Billy sighed as he put the bills down and rolled his chair in front of Jacob to stop his pacing. "There's more to it, isn't there? You seem much more on edge then I thought you'd be."

Jacob looked at his father. Billy's astute observation had been correct. He decided to confide in his father, even if Billy told him he was being a lovesick idiot. "I know this sounds stupid, but I can't shake the feeling that something is wrong."

Billy didn't tease him as he expected. Instead he looked concerned. "How long have you been feeling this way?"

"Since they left on the plane." Jacob admitted, the same sick feeling began to churn in his gut. "I should have never let them leave."

"Then you need to go to them." Billy stated firmly.

"How come you are not telling me I'm being an idiot?" Jacob asked him.

"I have learned you should always trust your instincts, Jake. You and Bella have a unique connection, I have always thought that. If you feel she is in some kind of danger, then you need to go to her."

"Where will I get the money for the flight?" Jacob asked in despair.

Billy told him to wait a moment. He left the room for a few moments before returning with something clutched in his hand. Jacob looked at his father curiously as Billy bid him to open his hand. Jacob held his palm open as Billy dropped some rings into his hand. There were two gold wedding bands and and his mom's engagement ring.

"Dad, no I can't. This is your wedding ring and mom's too." Jacob stared at him sadly.

Billy closed his fingers over them. "None of that is important. These are the only things that I have that hold any value. Your mom would have wanted you to use them if you needed the money. Take them to old Jed, he'll give you a good price."

Jacob didn't want to pawn them, but he felt he had no choice. He leaned down and hugged Billy. "Thank you." He didn't know what else to say.

"Go and get the money son. I'll arrange a flight while you are gone. You should try and ring Bella first though. Tell her you are coming out there." Billy advised him.

"Okay." Jacob hurriedly left the house. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and scrolled down to find Bella's number. He hit the call button and waited while it rang. It eventually went to voice mail. He cursed under his breath as he tried a few more times. Each time it went to her voice mail. He gave up and headed for his truck, he needed to get the money as quickly as possible. The sooner he was on a plane the better.

* * *

Bella stared at her ex-husband, not quite believing that he was there. He looked exactly the same. His thick, bronze hair was styled in the same way, his white skin made his eyes stand out, they were underscored with dark circles, which instinctively told her he hadn't hunted recently. He was dressed in sober, but expensive clothing.

"Are you ever going to speak, love?" Edward asked her again, he took a step toward her but she retreated from him. "What's wrong?"

Renee looked between them, she felt deflated now that her surprise seemed to have fallen flat. She had thought that her daughter would have been ecstatic to see Edward again. When they had both stayed with her in the past, Bella had raved about how much she loved him. The unexpected pregnancy must have caused a rift, but surely they could reconnect. "Well baby girl, I'll leave you two alone to talk." She quickly fled the room.

Edward watched her go and then turned his attention back to Bella. He gave her a gentle smile. "I know that my being here is a surprise, but I've missed you. I couldn't stay away. I found out from Alice that you had been staying with your mother. When I got here she told me you were away visiting Charlie and that you would be back today. She kindly let me stay over until you returned. She has a good heart, just like you."

Bella swallowed nervously. She just wanted to grab Ethan and run for her life, but she was trapped. She had little money and no way of getting home until she earned enough to pay for return tickets. Bella longed for Jacob, she should have listened to him. She stared at Edward fearfully wondering what the hell she was going to do now.

_**A/N-thanks for reading! **_


	15. Chapter 15

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-thank you for the lovely reviews on the last chapter. Nikki :)**_

**Part Fifteen-For the Love of Ethan**

The sound of Ethan crying pulled Bella out of her reverie, she backed away from Edward and went to fetch her son. She unclipped him from his baby seat and cradled him close to her chest, kissing the top of his head as she tried to soothe him. Edward had followed after her, although he was careful not to leave the darkened room. His eyes were fixated on her son, examining him carefully.

"He doesn't look as much like him as I expected." He said eventually.

Bella frowned. "He takes after Jake's mom, Sarah."

Edward flinched as she spoke Jacob's name. He shook himself slightly as he tried to regain his composure. "He's growing well."

"Yes, he was born a little early but he is catching up and is nearly at the weight he should be for his age." Bella replied absently as she rocked Ethan slightly.

"You have taken well to motherhood. It suits you, love." Edward's voice sounded envious. "I wish that I could have given you a son, our son."

Bella felt an involuntary shudder run down her spine. "Well that was always impossible."

"Of course." Edward conceded, he gave her a wry smile. "But still maybe this was the next best option."

Bella froze, clutching Ethan tighter to her chest. He began to grizzle again as he sensed her distress. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well I know that the reason you left was because you were worried about bringing your child up in our household," he refrained from saying vampires in case Phil or Renee overheard, "but I've been thinking, I could buy us a house, somewhere secluded and private. If it was just you and I living there, then that negates the problem."

"Edward that will never happen." Bella told him firmly. "Ethan is a unique individual, there are lots of reasons why he cannot be around you, who his father is being the main one."

Lines furrowed Edward's normally smooth forehead as he frowned at her words. "There is no reason that what happened to his father, will affect him too."

"You don't know that and I would never take the risk in any case. He is my number one priority. I am sorry but you have had a wasted journey. I think you should..."

"Hey baby girl is everything alright in here?" Renee asked tentatively as she came up behind Bella, interrupting her talk with Edward.

"Mom I need to change Ethan, can I use my old room?" Bella asked swiftly.

"Of course. Edward is staying in there. I told Phil to put your luggage in the same room." Renee said excitedly. "It's so good to see you reunited baby girl. Little Ethan needs a daddy and you need a man."

Bella's face flushed red with suppressed anger as she glared at her mother. As always Renee had unwittingly caused more trouble for her. She was dying to scream and let Edward and Renee know exactly what had been happening the last week, but she could hardly kick off with Ethan in her arms. "You assume too much, mom" She snapped instead. She quickly picked Ethan's changing bag up from the floor and hurriedly carried him to her old room.

* * *

"I managed to get you a cancellation, Jake." Billy told his son. "You have to hurry, the plane leaves in three hours."

Jacob fell to his knees and gave his dad a grateful hug. "Thank you. I'll never forget this."

"I just want to see you happy, Jake." Billy put his hands on his son's shoulders and squeezed. "Now go."

Jacob got back onto his feet easily and, with a last goodbye to his dad, he sprinted from the house and headed for his truck. He was going to cut it fine as it was. He climbed into his truck and switched on the engine, reversing at speed, Jacob turned the truck around and headed straight for the airport.

* * *

Bella had finished changing Ethan. She picked him up and perched on the edge of her old bed, cradling him on her lap. "I need to get out of here." She mumbled to herself. She pulled out her cell phone and one handed managed to bring up Jacob's number, she just hoped he wasn't out with the pack. She would need to speak very quietly in case Edward heard.

Her phone rang and rang until it eventually went through to voice mail. "Damn." She swore under her breath. She dialled his home number instead and waited anxiously while it rang.

"Hello." The sound of Billy's voice made Bella's heart lighten.

"Billy." She whispered.

"Bella, are you okay?" He asked her.

"No."

"What's wrong?" Billy demanded. "Why are you whispering? I can hardly hear you."

"I don't want to be overheard." Bella replied very softly. "Is Jake there?"

"No, he's on his way to you." Billy reassured her. "He sensed something was wrong and we managed to get him on a plane. It should have taken off by now."

Bella closed her eyes in relief. She didn't know how Jacob had guessed that something was wrong, but whatever instinct had led him to come after her, she was thankful. "I tried calling his cell but got no answer."

"It must be because he is on the plane. What's going on, Bella?" Billy asked again.

Before she could reply the bedroom door was opened and Edward sidled into the room. Bella ended the call and shoved the phone back in her pocket. "Why didn't you knock?" She snapped at Edward.

"I'm sorry, love. I didn't think." He looked at her curiously. "Who were you talking to?"

"Not that it's any of your business but I was speaking to my dad." Bella lifted Ethan up in her arms. She was shocked at how hot her son suddenly felt. Clutching him to her tightly she swept past Edward and went to join her mother and Phil. Renee was just getting some food out of the oven.

"Hey baby girl, I've made some food for you and Edward." She began to cut up the roast chicken, placing it onto two plates. She added some chopped salad and covered it with sauce.

Edward was hovering near the entrance to the kitchen, he couldn't come inside as the light was too bright. "That's very kind of you Mrs Turner..."

"Call me Renee." Bella's mother gushed. "Come on in and eat."

"I am so sorry but I suffer from several food allergies so have to be very select in what I eat." Edward apologized, giving her a charming smile.

"Surely you can eat salad?" Phil asked in surprise.

"Yes, Edward." Bella turned and looked him straight in the eye. "Salad should be fine."

Edward frowned. "Bella you know I have to be extra careful."

Bella held his gaze for a moment before dropping her eyes. "Perhaps you should leave and get something to eat then." She suggested meaningfully.

"No I am fine for now, love." Edward said easily. "I would rather stay and talk more."

"Why don't you both go and sit by the swimming pool?" Renee suggested. "It's lovely and sunny out there now. I can take care of Ethan."

"I am sorry Mrs Tu...I mean Renee, but I burn easily in direct sunlight." Edward replied regretfully.

"Is there anything you're not allergic too?" Phil said irritably. He was getting tired of the conversation, Edward made him feel uneasy. "Come on Ren, let them talk in here. I'll eat his meal outside." He picked up a plate and hustled his wife outside.

Edward was staring at Bella intently, making her feel increasingly uncomfortable. She turned away from him as Ethan began to cry again. He was feeling increasingly hot and she was getting very worried. She put her hand to his forehead and was shocked to feel the sweat beginning to bead on his skin. Going over to his changing bag she pulled out a thermometer she kept in there for emergencies, she gently put one end in his ear and anxiously waited for it to ping and give her a reading.

"What's wrong, Bella?" Edward asked her, his voice laced with concern.

"Ethan isn't well." She said distractedly. The thermometer pinged and she looked at the temperature. Her eyes opened wide as her heart began to hammer madly in her chest. "NO that's not possible."

"Bella? What does it say?" Edward came up behind her, the cold emanating from his skin made her flinch.

"Stay the fuck away from me." She yelled at him.

Edward was shocked at her language, she was clutching Ethan tightly, despair written all over her face. She dropped the thermometer and he skilfully caught it before it smashed on the floor. He scanned the reading several times, not believing what he was seeing. The numbers 108 flashed constantly, there was no mistaking what this meant. "Bella..." he approached her cautiously, his hand holding out the thermometer.

She backed away from him again, her face showing a mix of fear and hatred. "This is your doing." She screamed at him. "Why couldn't you just stay away from us?"

"But he is only a baby." Edward said imploringly. "It's impossible."

"He is Jacob's baby. He is his father's son and you are his mortal enemy. Ethan is protecting himself the only way he can. You triggered this, you and your fucking obsession with ruling every aspect of my life. I hate you Edward Cullen. I hate you." Bella yelled at him as she felt Ethan's small body begin to shake in her arms.

The sound of raised voices brought Phil and Renee running back into the house. "What's going on here?" Phil demanded.

Edward held up his hands in a placatory gesture. "Bella and I had a slight disagreement. Ethan is unwell and I would like to take him to a hospital. My father is a doctor and can help." He gave Bella a meaningful glance.

"Oh my god baby girl, is little Ethan that bad?" Renee put her hands over her mouth and began to sob. Her cries upset Ethan and he began to wail too as another tremor shook his small body.

Phil looked between Edward and Bella, he could sense that something was not right between them. "I want you to leave young man." He said firmly to Edward.

Edward shook his head. "Not without Bella."

"Leave." Bella stated harshly. "You have caused enough damage. If anything happens to my son, I won't stop Jake from tearing you apart."

"Jake?" Renee stopped crying and stared at Bella in shock. "What's going on?"

"Jacob Black is Ethan's real father and he is on his way here right now." Bella stated bluntly.

"That's who you were on the phone to." Edward murmured. "You've been with him this whole time haven't you?"

Bella stared straight into his eyes. "Yes, Jake and I are together. I only came back here to hand in my notice and collect my stuff. We're getting married."

Edward staggered slightly as if she had punched him in the gut. Bella felt no sympathy for his plight, she was just sick of the sight of him. She left the kitchen and went back to her old room, shutting the door behind her. She lay Ethan on the bed and began undressing him quickly so he only had on his diaper. Thin perspiration covered his skin, and his heart beat erratically in his chest. Bella began to cry as she stroked his head gently. She couldn't take him to a regular doctor, they wouldn't be able to help him.

"Ethan please hold on baby." She begged him. "Daddy's coming, it'll be better when daddy's here."

* * *

Jacob looked at his watch for the hundredth time. He would reach his destination in another hour. Time had seemed to pass extra slowly as he fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat. It was rather small for his large frame and he longed to be out in the open air. The niggling worry that something was really wrong made him very agitated, some internal instinct told him that it wasn't Bella that was in jeopardy but his son. He counted the minutes down in his head as he tried to hold himself together.

* * *

Bella lay on the bed next to Ethan. Her mom and Phil had tried to get into the room, but she had locked the door. Edward had tried to speak to her, pleading with her to let him in. She ignored him as she kept all her attention on her son. Ethan was now whimpering in pain, the beads of sweat coating his forehead began to run down his cheeks. Bella kept wiping his skin down, trying to keep him as cool as possible. She had taken his temperature again and it was reaching 109 degrees. Occasionally his small body shook, the outlines blurring as if he was on the verge of transforming right before her eyes.

"Please Ethan, you are strong, just like your daddy. It's not your time, please hold on." Bella whispered brokenly.

Ethan looked at her, his eyes darkening with every second that passed. Bella instinctively knew that if Jacob didn't get there very soon, it would be too late for their son. With tears streaming down her face, Bella cuddled her son close and began to pray.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	16. Chapter 16

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-thanks for the lovely reviews on this story. I really appreciate it. Nikki :)**_

**Part Sixteen-Panic**

The light hit Jacob's eyes, making him squint, as he hurriedly left the airport. He wished he could phase and run the rest of the way to Bella and Ethan, but there were too many people and no cover. He pulled the last bit of cash he had out of his pocket and flagged down a passing cab. He got inside the car and reeled off the address to the driver, ignoring his banter as he tried to make friendly conversation. All of Jacob's attention was focused on getting to his family before it was too late. The ominous feeling was making him particularly edgy. He pulled out his cell and dialled Bella's number. It seemed to ring forever, but finally she answered it.

"Bells?"

"Jake, where are you?" She asked him desperately.

He could hear Ethan wailing in the background. He tapped the driver on the shoulder. "How long until we get there?"

The driver glanced back at him. "You're in a hurry aren't you?"

"How long?" Jacob snapped.

The driver swallowed nervously at the fierce expression on Jacob's face. "Twenty minutes."

"Did you hear that honey? Twenty minutes. What's going on?"

"Ethan is in trouble, Jake. He's changing. His temperature is 109 degrees now. I am trying to cool him down, but nothing is working. I don't know what else to do." Bella sobbed down the phone.

"Fuck." Jacob swore. "What could possibly have triggered it?"

Bella was silent for a few seconds before she answered. "Edward was here when I arrived." She whispered.

Jacob's eyes darkened and his arms began to shake as rage built up in him. The cab driver glanced at him in alarm. "Are you alright?" He asked tentatively.

"Just drive." Jacob growled at him.

The driver's face paled as he saw the menacing expression on his passenger's face. He put his foot down, not caring whether he got pulled over, he just wanted to get this crazy man to his destination as soon as possible.

"Jake, what do I do?" Bella begged him.

Jacob was having trouble keeping his temper under control. The urge to phase and hunt Edward Cullen down and kill him was roaring through his veins, but he needed to focus. His first priority was getting to his son. He took a deep breath. "Just keep talking to him, Bells. Make him focus on just you. The calmer you can keep him the better. Is the leech still at the house?"

"Yes." Bella confessed. "I can't get him to leave. I had to lock myself in my old room. Hurry Jake."

"I'll be there very soon." Jake promised her. He shot the driver a glare, making him speed up even more.

* * *

Bella had to end the call as Ethan was getting more distressed. She looked into his eyes and gasped as she saw yellow rings around his pupils. "No baby, come on fight it. Look at me, look at me."

Ethan drew his arms and legs up to his chest as he began to cry harder. His eyes closed as he started to thrash around in pain. There was a frantic knocking on the door as Renee and Phil begged her to come out.

"Baby girl, open up." Renee pleaded with her. "We need to get Ethan to a hospital."

"Come on, Bella." Phil urged her. "What are you thinking? If you don't open this door I will be forced to break in."

Bella felt panic wash over her; they couldn't come in. She heard Edward speaking to Phil, she couldn't quite make out the words but she guessed that they were plotting to carry out their threat to bust the door down. She gazed frantically about as she tried to think of an avenue of escape. Bella's eyes rested on the partially open window, that was the only way. Luckily the house was only one storey so Bella could easily slip out of the window and carry Ethan outside. She slung his changing bag over her shoulder as she carefully maneuvered her body out of the tight gap, cradling a wailing Ethan tightly to her chest. She finally managed to get out and shut the window behind her.

Bella slid down onto the hard ground and rested Ethan on her lap, his small body was shuddering with each tremor that shook him. His cries were lessening as his body temperature rocketed. His hot skin was burning hers as she held him, but Bella didn't let go. She remembered what Jacob had told her, she needed to keep Ethan's attention focused on her. Speaking to him hadn't worked, but maybe if she sang to him like she would always do of a night when she put him to bed.

"_Hush a bye baby, on the treetop, _

_When the wind blows the cradle will rock;_

_When the bow breaks, the cradle will fall,_

_And down will come baby, cradle and all."_

Bella sang the words to him over and over in a gentle tone, it took a few moments but slowly his vigorous thrashing stopped and his eyes opened. They were still dark with yellow rings circling the pupils, but he was now looking at her directly. She kept this up even when she heard the loud banging as Edward and Phil took the bedroom door off of it's hinges. She guessed Edward must be quite frustrated that he couldn't just have pulled it off himself with his bare hands, he had to keep up the pretense for her mom and Phil.

She knew she had to move again; keeping Ethan snuggled against her chest, she kept singing as she edged her way around the corner of the house. Bella looked left and right before running out toward the road. Miraculously a cab was just turning into the cul-de-sac, she was just about to flag it down, when she saw who was inside. "Jake."

The cab drew to a halt and Jacob leaped out of the back seat, he threw what was left of his money at the driver and swept Bella and Ethan up into his strong arms. The driver stared at the display in front of him, the money his passenger had given him was well short of the cost, but he had no intention of arguing with the guy, he was well built and looked like he could handle himself in a fight. Giving it up as a lost cause the driver reversed quickly and left.

"Oh Jake, thank god you're here." Bella sobbed against his chest.

Jacob stroked her hair with his hand. Ethan was wedged between them; Jacob could feel the heat pouring from his son's body. "Why are you out here?"

"I had to climb out the window. They were breaking into the room. My mom and Phil wanted Ethan to be taken to a hospital." Bella said in despair. "What do we do, Jake? How can we stop this happening?"

"Calm down, honey." Jacob kept his tone calm, even though he felt far from it. He took Ethan out of Bella's arms and held him carefully. "We need to get out of full view of everyone."

He scanned the area quickly, looking for some kind of cover. The neighboring house had a garage attached to the side. It was more sheltered and you wouldn't be able to see anything from the road there. He led Bella over toward it; Ethan seemed less distressed now he was being carried by Jacob. His breathing had slowed down and his heart was beating at a more normal pace. Jacob told Bella to crouch down next to him. He did the same, leaning against the garage wall so he could balance Ethan on his lap. He studied his son carefully. Every few seconds his son's body would tremble and he would let out a little cry of pain.

"Jake, can you stop it?" Bella pleaded with him. Every time Ethan let out a cry she felt his pain right along with him.

"I can only think of one thing, but I'm not sure it will work." He said helplessly. "I've never heard of this happening to a baby before."

"Whatever it is, just do it Jake." Bella crouched next to him, her worried eyes fixated on her son.

"Okay." Jacob took a deep breath to steady himself. He held Ethan up in front of him so he was forced to look into his eyes. "Ethan, listen to me."

Bella was astonished to hear the timbre of Jacob's voice change, it was much deeper and had a hypnotic quality to it. It seemed to engage Ethan, as he was gazing at his father wide eyed, his whole body had gone still. She guessed now that Jacob was using his Alpha tone.

"Ethan." Jacob commanded. "You will not phase, I order your wolf to back down and remain silent until the day you are old enough to handle the transition. I am your Alpha, I am here now to protect you and your mommy."

Bella watched her son's eyes slowly begin to go back to a normal color. The yellow around his pupils faded. His body became limp and Jacob quickly snuggled him against his warm chest. Ethan was no longer radiating intense heat, his body was returning to it's previous physical state. The only difference being that he seemed to have grown in stature slightly. You could no longer tell that he had been born premature.

"It worked." She said in relief.

Jacob smiled at her. "Yeah it did."

"You spoke directly to his spirit wolf." Bella stroked her son's head in wonder.

"It was the only thing I could think of. Technically I am still the Alpha, so his wolf would have to obey my command." Jacob replied. "I'm just glad it worked."

"Me too." Bella had tears in her eyes.

They stayed huddled together for a while, reveling in being back together and that their son was going to be alright. The day's exertions had exhausted Ethan and he was now sleeping peacefully in Jacob's arms, showing no ill-effects from his earlier brush with phasing. The sound of voices calling out Bella's name interrupted their joyful reunion. Renee and Phil, having discovered that the bedroom was empty, were out the front searching for her. Edward had to remain inside the house, the bright sun would have given his secret away instantly.

A fierce expression crossed Jacob's face as he thought about the leech who had caused all this trouble. He glanced to the side at Bella, who was watching him closely. "What are you going to do?" She whispered.

Jacob studied her carefully as he handed Ethan to her. "I want you to stay with your mom and Phil."

"Jake?" Bella questioned him again. "Tell me."

"I'm going to do what I should have done a year ago." Jacob stated coldly, his eyes were dark and Bella could see the wolf was just below the surface. "Don't stop me, Bella."

Bella glanced down at her sleeping son and then back up at Jacob. Edward had endangered her son's life today. He knew what was happening, but he had still refused to leave. Ethan could have died and, for that alone, Bella could never forgive him. She placed a hand on Jacob's chest, his heart was thumping loudly. She looked into his dark eyes and nodded. "Do what you need to do."

Jacob helped her stand, he put his arm over her shoulders and guided her out into the light. As soon as Renee saw her, she ran to her side. "Oh baby girl, what were you thinking? Ethan needs to go to the hospital."

"Ethan is fine now mom, see." Bella showed her. Ethan was sleeping peacefully in her arms.

"I don't understand." Renee said uncertainly. She then seemed to realise that Jacob was there. She stared up at him in awe. "You're him, aren't you?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "This is Jake, mom. He is Ethan's father."

Renee couldn't tear her eyes away. "Pleased to meet you." She said faintly.

"You too." Jacob exchanged an amused glance with Bella.

Phil came up and stood beside his wife. He looked at Jacob, an indefinable expression in his eyes. "So you're the man that Bella announced she was going to marry."

"Yeah, I'm Jake." He held out his hand.

Phil took it and shook it warmly. "I have to warn you that Edward Cullen is in the house."

Jacob's expression darkened. "I know." He said, a hint of anger in his tone.

Phil turned to look back at the house and then at Jacob again. The tension surrounding the tall, well built man was palpable. It seemed that Edward Cullen was in for a well deserved pummeling. Phil was an astute man, he had never liked Cullen, there was something off putting about the way he spoke, his impeccable manners and weird 'allergies.' Phil knew there was more going on here then he would ever understand, and maybe it was best to be kept in the dark.

"Would it help if I took the girls out to dinner?" He asked, looking Jacob straight in the eye. "You and Cullen can have all the 'words' you need."

Jacob gave him a wry smile; he liked Bella's stepfather. "Thanks, that would be great."

Renee felt bewildered, she had no idea what was going on. "Phil?" She questioned him.

"It's alright Ren, come on. Do you have everything you need for Ethan, Bella?" Phil hustled his wife toward their car.

"Yes." Bella showed him the changing bag. "I'll join you both in a second."

Phil nodded as he opened the car door for Renee and persuaded her to get in. Jacob put his hands on Bella's shoulders and leaned down to kiss her gently on the lips. "I'll see you when you get back. I love you."

Bella put her hand on his cheek, rubbing his warm skin with her fingers. "I love you too. Be careful."

"I'll be fine." Jacob stepped back and watched as Bella headed over to the car and made herself comfortable in the back seat. Phil started the engine and drove past Jacob, he gave him a meaningful glance before looking at the road ahead. Bella gave Jacob a small wave as Phil drove off down the road and out of sight.

Jacob took a moment to compose himself, he stretched his limbs, the warm sun was hot on his skin as he turned and began to stalk toward the house. His eyes were dark, the pupils rimmed with yellow as he let his spirit wolf come to the surface. The sickening stench of leech hit his nostrils as he approached the front door. This only increased his ire. Limbering up quickly, Jacob kicked out at the front door, making it slam against the wall inside. Standing in the hallway, as if he had been waiting for him, stood Edward Cullen.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!The lullaby Bella sang to Ethan 'Hush a bye Baby' was said to have originated from America. It was the practice of some Native Americans to place a baby in the branches of a tree allowing the wind to gently rock the child to sleep 'Hush a bye Baby, on the treetop.' The meaning to the words of the song seem to match this explanation.**_

_**Nikki :)**_


	17. Chapter 17

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-thank you all so much for the lovely reviews. I really appreciate it. Nikki :)**_

**Part Seventeen-Fight**

Edward stared at Jacob unblinkingly, he did not move a muscle, there was no pretence at breathing or any of the physical mannerisms he used in front of other people. Jacob thought he looked exactly like the dead creature he truly was. The stench was overpowering, it was so sickly sweet that it made him want to gag. He was having a hard time controlling the urge to phase; images of ripping Cullen to pieces ran through his mind.

"You are predictable as ever, Jacob Black." Edward had been reading his mind. "I have to commend you on your vivid imagination."

"You son of a bitch." Jacob clenched his fists. "You nearly caused a catastrophe today. My son could have died because you just won't leave Bella alone because of your sick, twisted obsession with her."

"My obsession?" Edward's golden eyes burned brighter as he glared at Jacob. "You cannot comprehend the pure and unadulterated love that I feel for Bella. I worship her, unlike the carnal thoughts that run through your head when you think about her."

Jacob punched Edward hard on the jaw making him reel back. He had not hunted in days and it made him weaker than normal. Still his stone skin made Jacob's knuckles crack on contact. Jacob gritted his teeth and ignored the pain as he hit Edward again, making his head rock back and smash into the wall. The impact left a hole in the wall. Edward gathered himself together and ran toward Jacob, his own hand clenched into a fist, he lashed out but missed as Jacob dodged him easily. He whirled around only to be met with a kick in the balls. He bent over to protect himself as Jacob kicked out again, sending Edward sprawling to the floor.

"You really have no idea how to fight, do you?" Jacob taunted him. He was in a lot of pain, every time he hit Edward, his hard skin cut or fractured one of his bones, but luckily his quick healing ability knit them back together almost instantly. "You were the same during the newborn fight, that's why you hid up in the mountain with Bells. If Seth hadn't been with you to save your pathetic ass, you would have been a pile of ash by now."

Edward staggered to his feet, his pupils had coalesced, the centre turning black as he glared at Jacob with pure hatred. His veneer of respectability and poise had vanished, there was no one to put on a show for. He was now the deadly creature he was supposed to be; a vampire who sucked the life blood out of humans. Jacob saw Edward's mouth drop open and the liquid venom shine on his white teeth as he bared them at him.

"You have no idea what I am capable of?" Edward snarled. "I have lived decades longer than you, dog. I have killed many humans and drank them dry. You think you can better me? There is not a chance in hell. When I tear you apart there will be nothing left to stop me taking Bella and Ethan away."

His words sent a flare of pure rage through Jacob's veins; the flood of heat brought his spirit wolf to the surface. His form shimmered briefly before his clothes ripped apart, the pieces of cloth floating in the air as he phased. More chunks were torn out of the wall as his large frame failed to fit in the narrow hallway. He noticed none of this as he launched himself at his hated enemy. Edward seemed stunned, his few seconds of hesitation allowed Jacob to sink his sharp teeth into Edward's shoulder. Pulling back on his haunches, with Edward yelling and frantically trying to claw him away, Jacob bit down hard and detached his arm from his shoulder.

The taste of the leech's skin made Jacob want to gag. He spat the arm out of his mouth and onto the floor. Edward quickly tried to grab it with his only remaining hand. If he could reattach the limb it would be saved. Jacob's huge body filled the hall, preventing him from doing so. His russet fur rose up along his spine as he crouched low and growled menacingly at Edward. The wolf had completely taken over Jacob's mind, he was in total control and was determined to end his mortal enemy for good. No rationality was left inside him, this cold one had caused danger to his family and so must pay the ultimate price.

Edward looked into Jacob's dark eyes, he saw the rage and hatred gleaming forth. He had never been scared of another creature ever since he had been turned, but seeing the maddened wolf in front of him sent a sliver of fear up his back. He began to retreat from the house; keeping his eyes fixated on the red wolf, making sure to be prepared if it launched another attack. Retrieving his arm was a lost cause. He reached the open plan kitchen, the enraged wolf stalking him every step of the way.

"You really don't want to do this." Edward warned the wolf as he felt his back press against the closed patio doors which led out toward the swimming pool. "You will be seen."

The wolf just lunged at him again with its muzzle, growling and snarling. Edward fumbled with the lock to the door and managed to slide the glass doors open. Quick as lightening he spun round and sprinted outside. His white skin sparkled like an array of diamonds as the bright sunlight hit his body. It was so blinding that it hurt the wolf's eyes as it followed him out and leaped high into the air, landing right on top of Edward. Their bodies rolled over and over on the patio, knocking the chairs and table out of the way. They grappled with each other, both trying to inflict damage as they wrestled.

Their bodies rolled one last time and fell straight into the pool. The water closed over their heads as the shock made them pull apart. Edward did not need to breathe, but Jacob's wolf did. The chlorinated water filled his lungs, burning his throat as he thrashed about in the water. Edward smiled grimly as he kicked the wolf hard in the ribs, breaking the bones. The wolf tried to howl in agony, but that served only to cause more water to pour down his throat.

Edward quickly swam to the surface and pulled himself out of the pool. He looked up and his eyes met the startled ones of the neighbor's, who had come out to investigate the source of all the noise. The man's eyes widened as he took in Edward's sparkly skin and golden rimmed eyes. "I'm going to call the police." His voice trembled as he spoke to Edward.

"That wouldn't be a wise thing to do." Edward muttered. "I can't have witnesses."

Before the man could react Edward had sprinted toward him and knocked him out cold with his remaining hand. He quickly looked left and right before dragging the man's comatose body toward his own house and taking him inside.

* * *

The pain of his broken ribs forced Jacob to come back into his right mind. He instantly phased back and swam to the surface of the pool. He glanced around, wincing as his ribs ached with every movement. He saw the furniture scattered around and gouges along the stone surface of the patio where he and Edward had fought. Jacob couldn't see Cullen anywhere, he cursed under his breath, he had got away. Making doubly sure that no one was looking, Jacob pulled himself out of the pool and sprinted back inside the house.

He checked each and every room but there was no sign of the leech, the only evidence he had been there was the arm that Jacob had managed to tear off at the shoulder. Reluctantly picking it up, he rummaged around in the kitchen drawers until he found a lighter, then threw the limb into the sink and set fire to it. The arm burned brightly for a few seconds, emitting a sickly sweet scent, before disintegrating into ash.

Holding onto his injured side, Jacob went into Phil and Renee's room. He hated doing it, but he needed to borrow some clothes. He opened the wardrobe and pulled out a clean shirt and some shorts belonging to Phil. The shorts were a bit tight, but at least he was covered. He pulled the shirt on, wincing as pain shot through his side. The sleeves of the shirt were too small, but he rolled them up above his elbow and this seemed sufficient.

Jacob then went back out into the main house to assess the damage. The hallway was the worse affected, there were several chunks missing from the walls. The rest was superficial damage that he could easily clean up. Jacob cursed himself at his loss of control. Never in all the time he had been phasing had his spirit wolf managed to battle him and win. Normally Jacob was always in total control of his wolf's body, but today his blind rage at Edward for the hurt he had caused Ethan, and the threat he had issued about taking his family away, had caused him to snap and the wolf's instincts had taken over.

Worst of all they were in a hugely populated area with no tree cover. Who knows if they had been seen when they charged out of the house and fell into the pool? There didn't seem to be anyone about when he got out of the water, luckily the houses were not right next to each other, but still Jacob was surprised that no one had come out to investigate. All of these worries were flying through his head as he began to clear up as much as he could. He cleaned the hallway down and then the kitchen, after that he headed outside to sort out the scattered furniture. Within an hour his ribs had healed up and he had managed to make the house look presentable again. There was nothing he could do about the gouges in the patio or the missing chunks from the wall though.

Jacob sat down on the cream sofa in the living room and looked around. He wondered where Cullen had gone. He was angry that Edward had managed to slip away, even though he was missing an arm. Sighing, Jacob picked up the house phone, his cell had been damaged when he phased. He dialed Bella's number from memory and waited for her to answer her phone.

"Hello?"

"Bells, its me."

"Jake, are you alright?" Bella was whispering so her mom and Phil wouldn't overhear.

"Yeah." Jacob replied tiredly. "Where are you honey?"

"We're on our way back now. We should be at the house in ten minutes." Bella told him. "Is Edward still there?"

Jacob hesitated a moment before answering. "No, he's gone."

"Gone? Do you mean gone as in you know?" She questioned him.

"No unfortunately. He's missing an arm though." Jacob replied grimly.

"You're not hurt are you?" Bella asked frantically.

"I was a little, but I'm healed now." Jacob assured her. "We have a problem though Bells."

"What?"

"The house is beat up a little. I don't know how we are going to explain the damage to your mom or Phil." He admitted.

Bella sighed. "I'll think of something. The main thing is you are okay. I love you, Jake."

Jacob felt the constriction in his chest ease at her words. "I love you too, honey. So much."

"I'll be there soon, Jake."

"Okay." Jacob heard the dial tone as Bella ended the call. He put the phone back in it's cradle and leaned back on the sofa, letting his eyes close as his exhaustion overwhelmed him.

* * *

"What the hell has gone on in here?" Phil demanded as he glared at Jacob. "I know I said we'd leave you alone to have 'words' but why is there huge great chunks missing out of my walls? Did Edward use an iron bar on you or something?"

Bella held Ethan as she exchanged a look with Jacob. Renee was standing next to her staring around in stunned silence. Jacob ran a hand through his hair as he approached Phil. "I'm sorry. Yes things got very heated. I promise while I'm here I'll fix up the damage."

"You bet you will." Phil grumbled, his temper easing off as he saw how contrite Jacob looked. "Where is Edward anyway?"

Jacob shrugged. "He crawled off with his tail between his legs."

A small smile flickered across Phil's face. "Good, the man was a complete tool."

"I thought he had very nice manners." Renee finally found her voice.

"For god's sake mom, Edward was a creep. He shouldn't have even been here and to be honest you shouldn't have let him stay." Bella reprimanded her.

"Baby girl, I was only thinking of your happiness." Renee protested.

"No mom, you just weren't thinking period." Bella replied irritably, tired of tiptoeing around her mother's feelings.

Easy tears welled in Renee's eyes. She looked to Phil for support, but he just held up his hands. "She's right Ren, I did warn you."

Renee gave him a hurt look before sweeping out of the living room and into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

"I'm sorry." Bella apologized to Phil. The noise had woken Ethan up and he began to whimper.

Jacob took Ethan from her and began to try and calm him down. For the first time Phil looked closely at Jacob and his eyes narrowed. "One more question?" He said suspiciously.

"Yeah." Jacob replied distractedly as he rocked Ethan gently.

"Why are you wearing my clothes?" Phil demanded.

Jacob exchanged a glance with Bella before giving Phil a sheepish smile.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	18. Chapter 18

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-thank you all so much for the lovely reviews on this story. I really appreciate the support, it means a lot. Nikki :)**_

**Part Eighteen-Mother and Daughter**

"I'm sorry my clothes got some blood on them and I didn't have anything to change into. I know it's cheeky, but I didn't want Bells and Renee to see me with bloodstains on my clothes." Jacob apologised. "I feel bad enough that it ended up in a fight."

"You didn't pack any clothes to bring with you?" Phil asked in disbelief.

Jacob's mind went blank as he tried to come up with a suitable excuse. Bella saw he was struggling, she put a hand on his arm and took over the conversation. "This is my fault Phil, I'm sorry. When I found out Edward was here I panicked and called Jake. He managed to get a cancelled flight and rushed to be here with me and Ethan, he didn't have time to pack or anything."

Phil's expression softened. "I see. I must admit I didn't really take to Edward at all. I did try and tell your mother it wasn't a good idea for her to let him stay, but you know Renee."

"Yeah, I know." Bella sighed.

"Well I'll go and check on Ren and I'll sort through some clothes for you to borrow while you're here." Phil gave them both a kind smile.

"Thanks, I appreciate that." Jacob said warmly. He really liked Bella's stepfather.

Phil left them alone and went to his room to try and placate Renee. When he was out of earshot, Bella led Jacob back to the sofa and began to ask him exactly what had happened while she was gone. Ethan lay asleep in Jacob's arms as he told her as much as he could. He watched as her face paled when he described the fight and how he had ripped off Cullen's arm.

"What did you do with it?" She asked in alarm.

"I had to burn it." Jacob said nonchalantly. "The main problem is I don't know where he went. I got out of the pool and he was nowhere in sight."

"Perhaps he has left and gone to rejoin the others." Bella replied hopefully.

"You really believe that?" Jacob questioned her.

Bella dropped her eyes to her lap, her hands were twisting nervously together. "No, not really."

Jacob put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "It's okay, honey. I won't let him near you."

"I know Jake." Bella leaned into his side, soaking up his supernatural warmth.

"We need to go home to La Push. It's not safe to stay around here, especially as I don't know where Cullen went." Jacob cuddled her closer into his side. Ethan stirred restlessly for a moment, his tiny lips opening in a yawn before he settled down again.

"Jake, we've got no money." Bella reminded him. "The whole point of me being here was to work out my two weeks notice to raise some money. How did you pay for your ticket here by the way?"

A sad look crossed Jacob's face as he thought about his dad's sacrifice. "I had to pawn my mom and dad's wedding rings." He confessed.

Bella heard the devastation in his voice. She couldn't even comprehend how Billy must feel having to give such personal and sentimental items away. "I am so sorry, Jake. This is all my fault. You were right I should never have come back here." Guilty tears welled in her eyes.

Jacob leaned down and kissed her. "Hey this is not your fault in any way. You didn't know that the leech was going to be here."

Bella wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and rested her head on his shoulder. "What do we do then? How are we going to get home without any money."

Jacob was quiet for a moment, he looked down at his son, Ethan was sleeping peacefully, his chest rising and falling with every breath he took. He felt so much love for his son and wanted nothing more then to keep him safe from harm. "I'm going to ring Em and get him to pick my truck up from the airport and then sell it. He can then book the tickets home for us."

Bella glanced up at him, she wanted to protest but really there was nothing else they could do. "I've a few pieces of jewellery that I can pawn. They won't fetch much but it's better then nothing."

"You don't need to do that, Bells." Jacob hugged her close to his side, kissing the top of her head.

"They're only worthless possessions." Bella gave him a small smile. "All that matters is that we get home safely."

"Yeah." Jacob agreed. They both sat quietly after that, just watching Ethan sleep and revelling in the fact that they were all together.

* * *

Bella sat outside near the pool with Renee. She had just revealed that she was planning on leaving as soon as Embry let them know what time their return flights would be. Jacob had rung him and Embry had agreed to pick up the truck and take it to a local dealership to see how much he could get for it.

"I thought you would stay for longer baby girl." Renee's lips quivered, easy tears rolling down her cheeks. "I miss not having you here."

"I'm sorry mom, this is just the way it has to be. I need to be with Jake and that means moving back to Forks." Bella leaned over and gave Renee a one armed hug.

"Can't you all move here?" Renee suggested. "I'm sure that Jacob could find work easily. Ethan needs the sun. It's too dark and gloomy in Washington."

Bella sighed, getting irritated by her mother's selfishness. "No that's impossible. You remember that Billy Black has diabetes and is in a wheelchair now. He needs Jake, and anyway, Jake would never leave La Push, its his home."

"But not yours." Renee pressed. "Why do you have to sacrifice what you want?"

Bella frowned. "I'm not sacrificing anything. My home is where Jake is. I don't care if that's La Push or Timbuktu. I'll go wherever he wants me to. It's called love mom."

"Are you saying that I don't know what love means?" Renee snapped.

Bella hesitated for a moment before replying. "Let's just say that we both have different ideas about what that means and leave it at that."

Renee crossed her arms and stared at the shimmering waters of the pool. "I sacrificed a lot for you baby girl. Being a single mother wasn't easy."

Bella didn't want to get drawn into an argument. She sat back in her chair and glanced over at the neighboring property. For some reason she kept thinking someone was watching her. She scanned the area but couldn't see anyone. The events of the last few hours had made her twitchy. "Who lives over there?" She asked as a way to change the subject.

"Mr Crabbs, he's a fussy man in his fifties. The house used to belong to his mother, he took care of her until she died last year. He lives alone now." Renee said dismissively.

"Do you see much of him?" Bella kept her eyes trained to the house next door.

"No, he's a very private man. Why?"

"No reason." Bella shrugged.

"I'm going to miss you, baby girl." Renee said again sadly.

"You can always come and visit." Bella assured her.

"Maybe." Renee replied bitterly. "But you know the weather in Forks doesn't agree with my delicate skin."

Bella forced herself to remain calm and not issue a retort. She knew her mother had no intention of paying her a visit. Even when she had become withdrawn and depressed after Edward first left her she hadn't bothered to come. Both women sat back in their chairs in silence; Bella shooting occasional glances at the house next door, certain that she was being watched.

* * *

"Thanks Em." Jacob said over the phone. He wrote down the times of their return flights. "So we just pick up the tickets at the check in desk?"

"Yeah dude." Embry replied. "Do you want us to meet you at the airport when you arrive, safety in numbers and all that?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Jacob agreed. "I can't take a chance that the leech might appear unexpectedly with his family in tow."

"Exactly. I can't believe the creep even turned up there. I thought Bella had made herself clear that she wanted him out of her life." Embry said in disbelief.

"He's obsessed with her, Em." Jacob told him. "There's something else I need to talk to you and the others about when I get back."

"Sounds serious. What is it?" Embry asked.

"It is." Jacob confided. "I don't want to talk about it over the phone. I'll wait until we can all get together and have a proper meeting."

"Your first official meeting as the Alpha." Embry teased him.

Jacob smiled wryly. "Yeah. I've gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow...and thanks again."

"No problem." Embry ended the call.

Jacob put the phone down and turned to look out through the open patio doors. Bella and Renee were sitting near the pool, neither of them talking. With his enhanced hearing he had overheard their earlier awkward conversation, he felt for Bella having to deal with such a selfish mother. With Ethan still sleeping Jacob went out and joined the two women.

"Hey." He drew up a chair and sat beside Bella. "That was Embry, he's got us some flights back for tomorrow."

"That soon." Renee snapped. "You just can't wait to kidnap my daughter and grandson and take them back to that godforsaken town in the middle of nowhere."

"MOM." Bella said in disgust. "How dare you?"

"I will dare, baby girl." Renee stood up and pushed her chair back. "You were happy living here. You had a good job and were making a life for yourself. One visit home to Charlie and suddenly you hook up with him again and announce you are moving back to Forks. What sort of hold does he have over you, huh?"

Jacob felt his anger rising. How dare Renee cast such aspersions on him? He felt Bella take his hand squeeze it. "Can you leave me and mom alone for a moment, Jake?"

"Of course." He got up and kissed Bella gently on the lips. He knew that this was between her and Renee, it wasn't his place to interfere, although a large part of him wanted to tear a strip off of the selfish woman. He stood up and headed back inside the house, closing the patio doors behind him discreetly.

When he was gone, Bella turned to face Renee. Her mother was red in the face, her eyes shooting sparks. "It had to be said, baby girl." She said defensively.

"You had no right to talk to Jake in that way." Bella didn't even bother to shout. Her voice dripped with disappointment. "You're supposed to be my mom, and I should be able to rely on you for support. I love Jake, I always have. It was my own stupid insecurities that kept us apart in the first place, but you have to take some of the blame for my low self esteem."

Renee gasped at her words. Her hand flew to her chest. "I can't believe you're saying such things. I did the best I could bringing you up."

"No mom, I brought myself up and you know it. Who was the adult in our relationship? It wasn't you. I am the one who you leaned on to keep you together, not the other way round. You were constantly on the move, never satisfied with what you had. I could never make friends because I wasn't in one place long enough. Every town we moved to you would have a different boyfriend and he would become your priority until things went wrong and then you would up-sticks again."

"I was lonely. I needed a man." Renee's bottom lip trembled.

Bella sighed as she stood up too. "None of this matters now, mom. What I'm trying to say is you have to accept my choice. Jake isn't dragging me back to La Push. I want to go, it's my real home. It always has been. I need you to understand."

Renee stared at her daughter for a moment, the tears still streaming down her cheeks. "You should go now then. If you think I am such a useless parent then I suggest you get the hell out of my house."

Bella felt like she had been stabbed in the heart. She said no more to her mother as she fled back into the house and back to Jacob.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	19. Chapter 19

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-thank you so much for the lovely reviews on this story. Nikki :)**_

**Part Nineteen-Jacob's Vow**

Jacob had heard the row between Bella and Renee, he held out his arms and cuddled Bella to his chest as she cried softly. "It's okay, honey." He said gently.

"She wants us to leave." Bella sobbed. "I can't believe she said that."

"Your mom is angry and hurting right now, Bells." Jacob stroked her hair soothingly. "I don't think she really means it, she's just lashing out."

"Maybe, but I can't stay here any longer." Bella pulled away and looked up at him from her tear filled eyes. "We have to go."

"Where to?" Jacob asked. "The flights home aren't until tomorrow."

"I'll sell off that jewellery I told you about." Bella reminded him. "We can get a cheap room for the night."

Jacob held her face between his hands. "Are you sure about this?" He checked. "You could try talking to Renee again."

"I'm done talking to her." Bella said adamantly. "I just want to go."

"Okay, let's get our stuff and get out of here." Jacob kissed her quickly and then began to help Bella to gather her things together.

Phil came back from the local shops, holding some fresh milk in his hand, he was startled to see them packing up. "What's going on?" He asked in alarm.

Bella couldn't answer as fresh tears began to leak out of her eyes. Jacob put a steadying arm around her shoulders. "I am afraid Bells and Renee had a disagreement. Renee asked us to leave."

Phil's face darkened. "Ren said this?" He looked at Bella.

"Yes." She mumbled, wiping her face with the back of her hand.

"I can't believe this, she has gone too far this time." Phil was angry. He dumped the milk onto the table. "Wait here, all of you, while I have a word with her."

"Please don't Phil." Bella pleaded with him. "It's not worth it. We'll just go. I don't want to cause trouble between you and mom."

"It's not you causing trouble though, Bella. It's her. I am tired of her childishness. Please just wait here." Phil marched out of the room and through the patio doors, closing them behind him.

"No, I didn't want this." Bella protested as she stared after him.

"Bells, calm down, this is none of your doing. He's right your mom is acting like a spoiled child, you know she is." Jacob held her close. "It's going to be alright."

Bella nodded her head against his chest. She felt so tired and just wanted to get out of Florida and back home where she felt safe. The same eerie feeling from earlier, when she had been outside by the pool, returned. She could swear that someone was watching them. She pressed herself closer to Jacob; his strong arms encircling her was the only reason she was keeping it together.

* * *

They sat on the cream sofa waiting for Phil to return. Loud yells could be heard coming from the back of the house as Renee and Phil argued loudly. The noise disturbed Ethan, and he woke crying. Bella picked him up and cuddled him, rocking him gently in her arms as she sat close to Jacob.

"This is terrible, Jake. They are really going at it." Bella said sadly. "I wish we hadn't promised Phil we would wait."

"I know." Jacob agreed. "It doesn't sound like this is the first time they've had this argument though."

"No." Bella lay her head on his shoulder as she continued to rock Ethan.

After another ten minutes passed with both of them feeling increasingly uncomfortable, the patio doors slid open and Phil, followed by a distraught Renee, came back inside. Renee caught hold of her husband's arm, but he shrugged off her hold. "No Ren, I've had enough."

"Please Phil, don't go." Renee begged him.

Phil stopped for a moment and turned to look at her. She tried to reach out to him, but he stepped back. "I don't know who you are anymore, Ren. I've tried to put up with your moods and constant neediness but it's just wearing me down. I'm going to leave for a few days, I need to get my head together and think about what I really want." He turned and walked away without another word.

"Phil, I need you." Renee cried out. He didn't reply, just went into their room and slammed the door.

Jacob and Bella exchanged a shocked glance. She carefully handed Ethan to him before getting up and cautiously approaching her mother. "Mom, are you okay?"

Renee turned to look at her, her bottom lip was trembling and her face was awash with tears. "This is all your fault, Bella." She said bitterly. "What vile things have you been saying to Phil about me?"

Bella backed away from her mother in shock. "I haven't said a thing."

"You must have." Renee yelled at her, her hands clenching into fists. "Phil and I were fine until you spread your poison."

Jacob stood up, he was beyond livid at the rubbish that was spewing forth from Renee's mouth. He came to join Bella. "Look in the mirror." He snapped. "Then you will see who is truly to blame. You're a disgrace."

Renee was shocked at his outburst. She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times to issue a retort, but nothing came out.

"Come on Bells, let's go." Jacob told her. He took her hand and passed Ethan to her. "I'll get your cases."

Bella nodded dumbly. She gave her mother one last sad glance, before cradling Ethan to her chest and walking out of the front door. Renee didn't follow her.

* * *

They had to go into the main shopping mall before they found anywhere to pawn Bella's jewellery. She didn't get much for them, but it was enough to pay for a cheap motel room on the outskirts of Jacksonville, and also some food. Bella fed Ethan first and made him comfortable before quickly preparing some snacks for her and Jake. They sat on the bed, Ethan between them, as they ate and talked.

"I'll be glad to see the back of this place." Jacob said as he polished off a sandwich.

"Me too." Bella passed him her sandwich, she didn't feel hungry in the slightest.

Jacob took it from her with a worried frown. "Honey, you need to eat because of the baby."

"I know. I've just lost my appetite."

Jacob handed her the other half of the sandwich. "Come on we'll have half each."

Bella gave him a small smile. "You are so pushy."

"Too right I am." He grinned at her as she began to take small bites out of the bread.

While she chewed her food slowly, Bella recalled the eerie feeling from her mom's next door neighbours house. "To be honest I feel much better being here than at my mom's house."

"What you like seedy little motel rooms?" Jacob teased her.

"No." Bella slapped his chest playfully. "The house next door was freaking me out."

"Why?" Jacob finished his half of the sandwich and looked at her expectantly.

"It felt like I was being watched. My mom said the house belonged to a middle aged bachelor. I got the feeling he was spying." Bella said nonchalantly.

Jacob felt his insides lurch at her words. He kept his expression neutral, he didn't want to alarm Bella. "I see. Was this when you were by the pool?"

Bella nodded as she took another bite. "Yeah. Why?"

"Nothing." Jacob replied, keeping his tone casual. "I just need to call my dad and let him know what's going on. Can I borrow your cell?"

"Yeah." Bella pulled it from the pocket of her jeans and handed it to him. She looked at him curiously as he got up and headed for the door to their room. "Why are you going out of the room?"

Jacob pointed at Ethan, their son had fallen asleep. "I don't want to disturb him."

"Okay." Bella gave him a smile before glancing down fondly at her son.

Jacob quickly exited the room and leaned against the concrete wall of the motel. It was dark outside, the heat from the day turning into a humid night. He wiped the perspiration from his forehead as he tried to regain his composure. He know knew where Edward had been hiding. He must have sneaked next door, that's why he had disappeared so quickly after the fight. Jacob felt sick thinking about what Cullen had done to the guy who lived in the house and worst of all, he must have been listening in to their private conversations too. Edward Cullen was one sick twisted bastard.

Even though his instincts were telling him to go back and investigate, Jacob could not leave Bella and Ethan unprotected, but what about the poor man who lived next door? There was only one course of action open to him, he needed to ring the police anonymously and report an intruder. Jacob walked a little further from his room, just to make doubly sure that Bella couldn't hear him. He quickly dialed 911 and waited for the phone to ring.

* * *

Jacob and Bella lay in the small bed. Ethan was sleeping peacefully between them. Bella could see that Jacob looked worried about something. He had been very quiet when he had returned after calling his dad. "What's wrong, Jake?"

He forced a smile onto his face. "Nothing honey. I'm just tired."

"I know you're hiding something. Don't keep me in the dark, Jake. I want to know. We're partners aren't we?" Bella reached across and put her hand on his cheek, stroking his warm skin softly.

"I wasn't keeping anything from you deliberately, Bells. I just didn't want you to worry." Jacob put his hand over hers.

"I know, and I love you for shouldering all the burden, but I would rather know the truth. I assume it wasn't Billy you spoke to earlier, was it?" She asked.

"No it wasn't." He confessed. "It was the police."

Bella's brown eyes widened in surprise. "The police? Why?"

Jacob pressed her hand harder against his cheek. "I don't want you to freak out, but when you told me that you felt like the neighbour was spying on you, I had a feeling it was someone else."

Bella gasped as she finally realized who he meant. "Edward?"

"Yes. It seems the most likely possibility." Jacob admitted.

Bella felt sickness well up in her throat. "Mr Crabbs? Do you think he might have done something to him?"

"I don't know." Jacob said quietly. "That's why I rang the police. I couldn't leave you and Ethan unprotected while I went to investigate, so they were the next best thing."

"Oh my god, this is a nightmare." Bella whispered. Her eyes drifted to her sleeping son. "I wish I had never met him or the Cullens. I want it all to be over."

Jacob reached across Ethan and cupped the back of Bella's head. He looked directly into her scared eyes. "I will never let anything happen to you or any part of our family, Bells. I promise." He vowed.

"I love you, Jake." Bella replied.

"I love you too, honey." Jacob gave her a reassuring smile as he moved closer so that Bella and Ethan were wrapped in the security of his arms.

_**A/N-thanks for reading! **_


	20. Chapter 20

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-thanks for the lovely reviews on this story. I really appreciate it. Nikki :)**_

**Part Twenty-The Little Brown Wolf**

Bella lay awake worrying. She glanced to the side, Jacob and Ethan were sleeping peacefully. She wished she could do the same, but she was fretting about Renee. Now that Jacob had revealed he had called the police, and that he thought Edward had been hiding out at the neighbours house the whole time, Bella couldn't shake the feeling that Edward might try and approach her mom. She recalled the last time she thought Renee had been in danger because of James; that time she had nearly lost her own life as she recklessly went to meet James, hoping to exchange her life for Renee's.

Now the situation was reversed. Edward had been her saviour that time, but now it was he who was the threat. Bella couldn't escape the irony of the situation. An hour passed and she still couldn't shake the feeling that her mother's life might be in danger. If Phil had truly left her like he had threatened, then Renee would be alone in the house, easy prey for a pissed off vampire. Bella knew that Edward had a dark side, he had admitted to her once how he had grown tired of the _vegetarian _lifestyle that Carlisle practised. He had set out on his own and hunted down murderers and rapists, or so he said, and drank their blood. He had been absent from his family for quite a few years before rejoining them again. Bella felt sick when she remembered this; it had never occurred to her before but Edward must have been lying about pursuing bad people. How would he even know? Yes, he could read minds, but those sorts of people were not all gathered in one place and vampires needed to feed on blood every day. Had she been so blind to his faults that she had never questioned this before?

It made Bella even more panicky that Edward, who she knew hadn't hunted in a while, could relapse and go after her mother. She knew in her own mind that Mr Crabbs was probably dead. She pondered whether Alice would have seen Edward's intentions and if she would do anything about it. All this ran over in Bella's mind on a loop and she became increasingly agitated. Another hour passed and she couldn't take anymore. She checked to see that Jacob and Ethan were still asleep, then slipped out of the bed and grabbed her cell phone. She was going to ring her mom.

As quietly as she could, Bella tiptoed over to the door to their motel room and gently opened it. She winced when the door creaked; Jacob shifted about restlessly, but he didn't open his eyes. After waiting for a moment to make sure he didn't wake up, she stepped outside and shut the door. Bella gave a relieved sigh as she walked a few metres away from her room so she wouldn't disturb Jacob and Ethan. She quickly dialled her mom's home phone. It rang and rang with no answer. Bella became desperate, she tried again, the result was the same. As a last resort she tried Renee's cell phone; still nothing. It went straight to voice mail. Bella clenched her hands into fists in frustration.

"Damn it." She paced back and forth for a few seconds, trying to compose herself. She was so anxious she didn't know how to deal with it. After a while she decided her only recourse was to wake Jacob and ask him what to do. She couldn't leave Jacksonville without knowing whether her mother was alright.

Bella began to head back to her room when a hand shot out of the darkness behind her and clamped around her mouth. Bella tried to scream as she clawed at the hand, trying to get it off of her. The cold, marble skin stole her breath, she knew it was Edward. She felt his chilled lips skim along the base of her throat as she heard him inhale deeply.

"We need to talk my love." He whispered in her ear.

Bella tried her best to struggle against his hold, but her efforts were useless. He pulled her back against his hard body and retreated to an empty room a few doors down from her own. He edged backward into the room, making sure to keep his hand clamped firmly over her mouth so she couldn't cry out. It was quite dark inside, only a single bedside lamp was lit. Bella's eyes were wide with fright as she looked about. She saw a shadowy shape lying on one of the twin beds, the figure had it's back to her so she couldn't quite see who it was, the dim light was making it hard to see anything clearly. Edward pushed her gently down into a chair and he quickly released his hold on her mouth. Bella tried to scream but his hand was swiftly replaced with a gag. Bella kicked out in frustration.

"Calm down love." Edward suddenly appeared in her line of sight as he knelt before her. He reached out and touched her skin with his cold fingers, tracing the curve of her cheek with his thumb.

Bella felt nausea overwhelm her as she watched him lean in and run his nose along her neck, inhaling her scent. "You smell so sweet." He murmured. "Your blood has always called to me. Remember when Aro called you my singer? That was definitely an apt description."

Bella was unable to say anything, she flinched every time he touched her. Her eyes focused on the figure lying on the bed. There was something familiar about it. She strained her eyes harder and finally made out the ties binding the persons hands behind their back. Who was it? And were they even alive?

She came back into the moment as she heard Edward call her name softly. She was finding it hard to breathe through her nose, the panic making her heart beat too fast. Edward seemed to sense she was in some distress. He cupped her cheek again and looked directly into her eyes. "I hate putting you through this, Bella. When we are far from here, I can remove the gag."

Bella shuddered as he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead, his lips ghosting down the side of her cheek and then all the way down her neck until they finally rested on her throat. She closed her eyes, unable to bear looking at him. In the dim light she could clearly see that the rims of his eyes had turned a deep red, a sure sign he had indeed given in to his blood lust.

A groan made Bella's eyes snap open again. It came from the person lying on the bed. Bella twisted her head around, vainly trying to see who it was. Finally the person rolled over onto their back and glanced over in her direction. Bella gasped as she looked directly into the fearful eyes of her mother, Renee.

* * *

Ethan's eyes flared open and he began to shake, his body temperature soared as he screamed in pain. Jacob woke with a jolt. He looked at his son in alarm as Ethan thrashed about. Jacob saw the rims of Ethan's eyes turn yellow. "NO, ETHAN NO."

Jacob picked his son up and cradled him in his arms. This couldn't be possible, why was this happening again? He had thought his Alpha command had worked, but something had set Ethan's spirit wolf free once again. Jacob looked around wildly for Bella. Where was she?

"Bells? Where are you?" Jacob roared as he began to hunt around the room. He looked in the small en-suite bathroom; it was empty. She was nowhere in sight. A sick feeling entered his gut as he realized just what had sent his son spiraling back into the abyss. Cullen must have Bella, and in some strange way Ethan was tied to his mother, and when she was in danger, his spirit wolf tried to come to the surface to protect her. Why hadn't he known? How had Cullen got Bella without his knowing about it? He had been exhausted but his natural instincts would have pre-warned him.

Jacob held his son up in front of him. Ethan was crying and shaking, his arms and legs drawn up to his chest as the ravages of the change took their toll on his body. Jacob closed his eyes and tried to connect with Ethan's wolf. A sharp pain shot through his head as an image began to form in his mind. A small brown wolf was running through the dewy grass. He had flecks of red in his fur; a light was surrounding the tiny wolf as it sprinted swiftly to and fro.

"Show me." Jacob commanded. "Where is mommy, Ethan?"

The tiny wolf stopped running and turned to face him directly. It's dark eyes, rimmed with yellow, stared into his. All at once everything went dark, the wolf disappeared and in it's place stood Bella; Edward was in front of her, touching her face and daring to lay his lips on her soft skin. Rage tore through Jacob as he realized she was nearby. The image faded and the tiny brown wolf was in front of him again.

"Ethan, thank you. I'm going to get mommy now. Tell your wolf he has done well." Jacob ordered him.

Ethan's tiny body gave one last shudder and became still. His temperature returned to normal and when Jacob checked his son's eyes they were no longer rimmed with yellow. He carefully lay Ethan down on the bed and made sure he was comfortable. "I'll be back very soon son. I just need to get mommy."

Ethan looked up at him with his intelligent dark eyes. Jacob could swear that his son or maybe it was his inner spirit wolf had understood everything he had just said.

* * *

Renee was making whimpering noises as she struggled to free her hands from their bindings. She too had a gag over her mouth. The two women stared desperately at each other as Edward continued to talk to Bella in a hypnotic tone. Bella felt sick every time that Edward kissed or caressed her skin, she couldn't believe that she had allowed him to do so freely at one time. She cursed the naïve teenager she had been. Renee was thrashing about as she wriggled her hands desperately, the bindings cutting into her skin. Bella tried to tell her mother with her eyes to be careful, but Renee was beyond reading anything.

Bella closed her eyes and pictured her son, Ethan. She was crying inside, desperately unhappy that she would never get to see him grow up. The vision she had of him and his little sister must have been false. Bella began to talk to Ethan in her head, begging him to forgive her, that she was sorry she had been so stupid. An image of a little brown wolf, red flecks scattered throughout its fur appeared in her mind's eye. Bella forced herself to focus on the tiny wolf, she looked into it's eyes and some innate instinct told her that she was seeing Ethan's spirit wolf. She begged the little wolf to help her, to go and warn Jacob that she was in danger. The wolf's intelligent dark eyes, rimmed with yellow, seemed to understand her pleas. It suddenly turned around abruptly and disappeared into darkness.

Bella opened her eyes and saw that Edward was staring directly at her, he leaned close one last time before the door to the room suddenly burst open and Jacob appeared. Within seconds Jacob had pulled Edward off of her and was dragging him out of the room and away into the dark night.

* * *

Bella took a few seconds to gather herself together, she tore off the gag and stood up, her hands and legs shaking. She carefully made her way to her mother. Renee had become still, her eyes were wide and staring. Bella could see that she was in shock. As gently as she could, Bella untied her mother's wrists and took off the gag. Renee immediately burst into tears and began mumbling Bella's name. Taking her by the hand, Bella led her mother out of the room and back to her own. She found Ethan lying where Jacob had left him.

Bella let go of Renee's hand and cuddled Ethan to her chest. "Thank you, Ethan. I love you." Tears poured down her face as she rocked him gently in her arms.

* * *

It took a long time for Bella to get Renee to calm down. Her mother kept babbling that Edward had reappeared after they and Phil had left. She had been shocked and disgusted to see that he had only one arm. Renee had tried to run but Edward had caught her easily and tied her up. He had waited until the night had fallen before carrying her out to a waiting car and dumping her on the back seat. She had passed out with fright and only came round when he had captured Bella too.

"What is he? He's not natural." Renee sat on the bed, rocking back and forth.

"You need to calm down." Bella finally snapped. She had reached the end of her tether. Her mind was full of worry about Jacob, he had been gone for over two hours.

She kept glancing at Ethan, her son was fast asleep and seemed calm. She hoped that this was a good sign and that Jacob was okay. Ethan had sensed her distress, she could only assume he would know whether his father was in danger too.

"What was he?" Renee said again, her wild eyes staring into space.

"Mom please, enough." Bella said again.

Renee looked at her miserably and then lay on her side, curling up into a foetal position. When Bella checked on her after ten minutes she saw with relief that her mother had fallen into a fitful sleep. Bella retreated back to the only chair in the room, she lay a sleeping Ethan on her lap and kept vigil on the door to the room, praying for Jacob to come back in one piece.

* * *

Four more tense hours passed before Jacob finally returned. Bella stared wide eyed as the door opened and he came stumbling inside. He was only partially clothed, a pair of shorts hung low on his hips. She gasped as she saw blood spatters along his torso and his face.

"Oh, Jake." Bella gently lifted Ethan and placed him on the bed next to Renee, she then ran over to Jacob.

He collapsed onto his knees, pure exhaustion making him unable to remain upright. Bella made sure he was comfortable, then quickly fled to the bathroom, returning with a wash cloth so she could start to tend to his wounds.

"What happened?" She whispered as she gently dabbed at the oozing blood. Some of his cuts were already scabbing over, they would be healed completely soon.

Jacob leaned his head back against the wall as he gazed at her with tired eyes. "He's dead, Bells. I killed him. He won't ever harm you or our family ever again."

Bella felt a sense of relief wash over her. She leaned across and kissed him on the lips. "I love you, Jake. I am so sorry that I..."

Jacob put a finger over her lips. "Doesn't matter. I love you too."

Bella felt a tear slip out of her eye as she finished cleaning him up. With Renee and Ethan taking up the only bed, Bella pulled the duvet onto the floor and made up a temporary bed. Jacob lay down and Bella nestled next to him. They were both asleep within seconds.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	21. Chapter 21

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-thank you all so much for the lovely reviews. Nikki :)**_

**Part Twenty One-Going Home**

Bella put the phone down and sank onto the small bed in exhaustion. She had managed to wangle the only spare ticket that was available on their flight back to Washington State. They had all woken up in the early hours of the morning to find Renee huddled on the bed crying. Her histrionics were disturbing Ethan. All she kept repeating was that _he was not human_, over and over on a loop. It was driving them all crazy.

"We can't leave her like this." Bella had whispered to Jacob. "With Phil gone we need to take her back with us."

Jacob had growled in frustration. "And where are we supposed to get the money from to pay for another ticket?"

"She can pay for herself." Bella put a calming hand on his arm. "I know that she has some credit cards. If we can get back into her house and find them, get her passport and pack her some clothes, she can come with us."

"They may not even have a spare seat on the plane honey." Jacob had pointed out. "Add the fact that your mom's street is still a crime scene. I called the cops remember."

Bella frowned, feeling guilty that she had forgotten all about Mr Crabbs. However there was nothing she could do about him, her main concern was her mother. If they left her behind there was no telling what Renee might say to the police or anyone. "I'm sorry, Jake. I just see no other way."

Jacob ran his hand through his hair. "I know you're right, Bells. I'm just tired that's all."

Bella had given him a sympathetic smile, they were all exhausted and worn down. In the end Jacob had gone by himself back to Renee's house. It was much easier for him to slip inside without being noticed. His enhanced senses would give him pre-warning if any police were about. Luckily he came back having experienced no trouble. He told Bella that Mr Crabbs' house had been cordoned off with yellow tape and there was one policeman standing guard outside; other then that he had encountered no-one. He had brought back clothes for Renee, her passport and credit cards. This enabled Bella to phone the airline about getting another ticket for her mother.

* * *

The plane ride back seemed to take forever. Bella was forced to sit with Renee, her mother was still very tearful and panicky. She would fall into an uneasy slumber, then wake up crying her eyes out and muttering to herself. Jacob took care of Ethan, he often glanced over at Bella, who was sitting three rows down from him, he would give her a reassuring smile and she would try to return it. They were all on the point of physical collapse and the added burden of Renee was just making everything that much harder.

It was with relief that the plane touched down at the airport. Jacob gave Ethan to Bella while he carried the luggage out of the terminal. Renee clung onto her daughter's arm as she stared wide eyed at all the passer's by. If anyone came too close she would flinch and let out a small scream. Bella was getting increasingly annoyed with her, but there was little she could do while they were in a crowd.

True to their word, the pack were waiting for them at the airport. Embry and Quil immediately surrounded them, the others hovering nearby. They were all surprised to see Renee with Jacob and Bella, but refrained from saying anything. To Jacob's surprise, Sam and Leah were with them.

"When did you get back?" Jacob asked his former Alpha.

"Last night." Sam told him. "I managed to track Lee down, we had a long talk and she agreed to come back with me."

"So you're together now?"

Sam shook his head. "Not yet. She is finding it hard to trust me. She wants time and I'm going to wait as long as she wants."

Jacob nodded. "Did the others tell you about Emily?"

"Yes." Sam took some of the cases from Jacob. He glanced over at Renee. "I see you've had a lot of trouble yourself. I'm sorry I took off and left you to deal with everything."

"It doesn't matter now." Jacob said dismissively. "I just need to get home. I'll fill you all in later about what went down."

Sam slapped him on the back. They made their way out of the airport as a group. Renee seemed bewildered as she stared around at the tall, muscular young men that had met them as they got off of the plane. Bella was glad that her mother was occupied staring at the pack, it seemed to have stopped her freaking out. The sun was out when they emerged and Jacob was shocked to see his truck parked outside.

"I thought you sold it?" He asked Embry in confusion.

Embry smirked. "I did."

"Then how come it's here?" Jacob demanded.

"I bought it back from the dealer." Sam said simply.

"Why would you do that?" Jacob felt confused.

"Because I owed you." Sam gave him a half smile. "And you have a growing family. You need the truck to get around."

"I can't accept this." Jacob said adamantly.

"Oh shut up." Leah snapped at Jacob, although the smile on her face belied her harsh words. "It's the least he could do. If you must, pay him back later. But Sam's right you need wheels, you have a family to think of."

Bella smiled at Leah's words, even Jacob managed a grin. "I will pay you back." He promised Sam.

"Fine, if that makes you feel better. Now get in the truck and I'll drive you all back, the others will join us later."

Jacob gave him a grateful smile as he loaded the cases in the truck and then helped Bella and Ethan into the back seat along with Renee. He sat up front with Sam. The others waited until Sam pulled away, waving them off before beginning the journey back to La Push.

* * *

Sam dropped Bella, Renee and Ethan off at the Swan house. Bella didn't know where else Renee could stay, and she had to make sure to keep an eye on her mother for the foreseeable future in case Renee started blabbing about what had happened to the wrong person. Jacob wanted to stay too, but Bella knew he needed time to rest, speak to his dad and the rest of the pack. Sam offered to phase and stay nearby to keep watch on the house until Jacob was ready to return.

Reluctantly Jacob agreed. He pulled Bella to one side, out of earshot of everyone else. "Will you be alright while I'm gone?" He checked, cupping her face in his hands.

"I'll be fine, Jake. I promise to stay inside and Sam's here to keep watch. Don't worry about me, you need to concentrate on yourself." Bella leaned up and kissed him gently on the mouth. It felt like forever since they had any time to be alone properly.

"Okay. I'll be as quick as I can." Jacob kissed her deeply again, leaving her breathless as he climbed back into the truck and started the engine. Bella rejoined Sam, Ethan and Renee and waved him off as he drove toward La Push.

Sam handed Ethan back to Bella. "I'll be nearby." He said quietly.

"Thank you, Sam. I really appreciate it." Bella gave him a grateful smile.

"No problem." Sam quickly ran off, disappearing into the trees surrounding the Swan house.

"Where is that man going?" Renee asked, her voice shaking as she spoke.

"For a walk. Come inside, mom." Bella took Renee's arm and, holding Ethan in the other, she led the way into the house.

* * *

Billy was relieved when he saw his son walk through the door. He could see how exhausted he looked, there were dark circles under Jacob's eyes and he didn't seem his usual self. "I'm glad you're back. Bella and Ethan with you?"

"No, they're at Charlie's." Jacob sat down on the couch and rested his hands on his knees.

"Why are they there?" Billy asked.

"I had no choice. Renee is with Bella. She is in quite a state, we had to bring her back with us." Jacob revealed.

Billy rolled his chair closer to his son. "What the hell happened up there?"

Jacob sighed as he looked at his father. "I killed Edward Cullen." He said flatly.

Billy's eyes opened wide. He sat in stunned silence as Jacob told him the whole sorry tale.

* * *

Bella lay Ethan down in his travel cot. She had fed and changed him and he was now falling asleep. She stroked his head softly. "You are my special boy." She praised him.

Ethan opened his eyes briefly and yawned before going back to sleep. Bella watched him for a moment before leaving the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Now she had to deal with her mother. Renee seemed to be in a daze. She had stopped muttering thankfully but she was like a bundle of nerves, jumping and letting out little shrieks at every small noise.

Renee was still in the living room where Bella had left her, she sat opposite her mother and took her hands, rubbing them gently to infuse some warmth. "Talk to me, mom."

Renee's eyes glazed over, she focused on Bella's hands holding her own. "He's not human." Her voice quavered.

Bella knew it was pointless denying any of this to Renee, she had seen too much. "No, Edward was not human."

"Was?" Renee finally lifted her head and stared at Bella.

"He's dead, mom." Bella gripped Renee's hands tightly in case she had another panic attack.

"Dead? Oh thank god, thank god." Renee began to cry again.

Bella sighed and shifted closer to her mother. "He can't hurt anyone anymore."

Renee cried for quite a while before she managed to regain some kind of composure. "What was he then, if he wasn't human?" She whispered hoarsely.

Bella flinched, this was going to be the hardest part. "Edward was a...was a...vampire."

"Vampire? That's impossible, they don't exist." Renee shook her head in disbelief.

"They do, mom. There are more things going on in this word then you know." Bella told her.

"But you...no he came to visit us during the day. Vampires only come out at night." Renee stated firmly.

"No, that's not true. You're remembering what you've seen on the T.V or films. Real vampires can go about during the day, as long as it's overcast and not sunny. That's why when Edward was in your house he had the curtains drawn and never went outside until the sunset ,remember?" Bella reminded her.

"He didn't have allergies then?" Renee felt stupefied. Her daughter had dated a freaking vampire. She stared at Bella as if she had never seen her before. "You knew this whole time what Edward was?"

"Yes."

"Does Jake know?"

"Yes."

"Does Charlie?" Renee's eyes narrowed as she looked at her daughter.

"No. Dad knows nothing about Edward. If he did he would have made sure to keep him away from me in the beginning." Bella said firmly.

"This is all too much to take in, baby girl. My head hurts." Renee whined.

"I know and I'm sorry you have got dragged into my mess." Bella apologized. "But mom you have to promise to keep this all to yourself. Other lives could be placed in danger if you say anything to anyone. Do you understand?"

Renee pulled her hands out of Bella's. "I need to lie down." She mumbled.

"Promise me, mom." Bella said again.

Renee stood up and put one hand behind her back, crossing her fingers. "I promise, alright."

"Okay. Use my bed. I'll cook and wake you up when the food is ready." Bella gave her a tremulous smile.

Renee did not return it. She quickly fled up the stairs and shut herself in Bella's room. She couldn't believe what her daughter had just confessed. As soon as Charlie got home she was going to tell him exactly what had happened and demand some answers.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


	22. Chapter 22

**Home**

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

_**A/N-thank you all for the awesome reviews. I really appreciate it. Nikki :)**_

**Part Twenty Two-Renee's Betrayal**

Jacob sat at the head of the pack. They were all gathered in a circle around him as they listened to him describe exactly what had happened in Jacksonville. Billy sat off to one side, already having heard the story. It didn't make it any less shocking to him to hear it for a second time. Paul and Jared had some inkling already about the fight to the death between Jacob and Edward; they had been phased at the time it had happened and seen flashes through the pack mind. Jacob had been so enraged at the time of the battle, that they had not been able to ascertain whether Cullen was dead or still alive. The scenes flashing through their minds had been chaotic. Their wolves had been deeply affected by their Alpha's fight for survival and it had been frustrating for them to not be able to assist their leader.

Everyone was quiet for a moment as they all took in what Jacob had said. Seth seemed to be the most affected, he had befriended Edward at one time. The two of them had fought against Victoria and her accomplice together and afterwards had shared some sort of false camaraderie. That was until the day of the wedding when Seth had seen the hurt and despair on his brother's face as they had to haul him away from Bella. After that he had cut off any ties with Edward at all.

"I still can't take it in." He said quietly. "Despite all his faults I was always under the impression that his main concern was Bella's happiness."

"That's the image he liked to portray, Seth. He told me as much himself once. I think it was all just a cover to get Bella to think that he was some sort of noble, self sacrificing lover. It was all just bullshit. I never trusted him, he had a dark side, I always felt that." Jacob replied.

"You did good." Paul interjected. Praise was rare from him and it took Jacob a moment to absorb that it was actually Lahote who had said it.

"Thanks." He said simply.

"We could sense something bad was going down." Jared confessed. "It was horrible being so far away and not being able to help."

"I never wanted it to come to this." Jacob said grimly. "The leech forced my hand. He had been drinking human blood, that alone was a direct violation of the treaty and he put my son and Bella in danger. He deserved to die."

A series of growls from his brothers and Leah confirmed that they agreed with this statement. Leah looked at Jacob carefully. "This makes the treaty null and void, doesn't it? Wasn't that the main stipulation that if any of them drank human blood whether it be on our soil or at all, they would no longer be tolerated in this part of the world."

"Yes." Billy joined in the conversation. He rolled his chair forward and joined his son at the head of the group. "If the Cullen's come back here there is nothing stopping us from running them off or, if they refuse to leave, they will pay the ultimate penalty."

"Do you think they'll come back and seek retribution for Edward?" Seth asked worriedly.

Jacob shrugged. "I don't know. I doubt they would have seen the fight. The little pixie cannot see anything if one of us is around. It could be that they are not aware that the leech was even involved in a fight with me."

"Then all we can do is wait and see." Paul summed it up.

"Yes." Jacob agreed. He was silent for a moment before he brought up the matter of Ethan. "There's something else I want to discuss with you guys. It's about Ethan. I haven't told you absolutely everything."

Everyone turned to look at him in confusion. Slowly Jacob filled them in on what had nearly happened to his small son. They were aghast when he told them that Ethan was trying to phase and that Edward's nearness had set him off. Leah was the most upset.

"But he's just a baby?" She cried out. "Does this mean it could happen to any of our children if the cold ones pass through the lands?"

Jacob ran his hand through his hair tiredly. "I don't know if it's just Ethan, maybe because he is my son and will one day be the Alpha himself or because he has a unique ability that is stirred up when his mom's life is threatened. Both times it happened was when Bells was in danger."

"Have you heard of this happening before?" Jared asked Billy.

"No, never." Billy replied. "I may consult with Old Quil, he is the oldest member of the tribe. He may know something that I have never come across before."

"I take it the elders will actually support us this time?" Paul questioned sarcastically.

A wry smile crossed Billy's lips. "There is no question that they will. Jacob's show of strength really lit the fire under them. Now that Micah has been removed, there has been a change for the better. When this meeting is over I will go over to Old Quil's and talk things through with him."

"I'll take you." Quil offered. "I have to check in with my grandfather anyway."

"Thanks." Billy gave him a small smile.

"Well I think that concludes everything for now." Jacob said tiredly. "Paul do you mind joining Embry on patrol? I want everyone paired up for the foreseeable future. Let him know what we have just discussed."

"Will do." Paul quickly left the house. Jacob's actions had finally earned Lahote's respect, he would never question Jacob's leadership again.

The others spoke amongst themselves for a while. Billy looked at his son. "You need rest. Go to bed."

"I have to get back to Bells and Ethan." Jacob protested.

"Jake, you will be no use to them like this, you can barely stand. Sam is looking out for them and Embry and Paul will be nearby. Rest while you can." Billy said firmly.

Jacob finally gave in, knowing his father was right. He bid the others goodbye and headed for his room. Within seconds of laying down, he was fast asleep.

* * *

Charlie came home from a long shift at work to find Bella passed out on the couch. He was shocked to see her back so soon. In her mad dash to come back home she hadn't had time to call him and let him know what was happening. She heard him enter the room and she jolted awake. "Dad?" She sat up, rubbing at her eyes.

"What are you doing back so soon, kiddo?" Charlie asked her. "I thought you were staying at your mom's for a couple of weeks? You haven't had a row have you?"

Bella hesitated for a moment. "Not exactly." She hedged.

"Bells?" Charlie turned his head when he heard movement coming from upstairs. "Is that Jake?"

Bella sighed. "No it's mom."

"Renee's here too?" Charlie felt confused. "Why?"

"She and Phil had a disagreement, so Jake and I brought her back with us."

"Jake was with you? Hang on a minute. You left for Florida alone. Tell me exactly what has been going on here?" Charlie demanded.

Before Bella could speak again Renee emerged. Her face was flushed red and her dark hair was sticking up in all directions where she had been sleeping on Bella's bed. "We need to talk Charlie." She said tearfully.

Charlie stood up and faced her. "About?" He snapped.

Bella stared at Renee worriedly. Surely she wouldn't say anything after her earlier promise? "Mom." She said warningly.

Renee ignored her completely. She curled her hands into fists as she strode right up to Charlie and glared at him. He was shocked by the expression on her face. "I WANT TO KNOW WHY YOU LET OUR DAUGHTER HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH A FREAKING VAMPIRE?" She yelled at him.

* * *

Quil dropped Billy back home. His talk with Old Quil had gone well. The old man seemed intrigued by the possibilities that Ethan's special abilities represented and he eagerly began to pull out old volumes and scriptures, anything that pertained to the last wolf pack led by Ephraim and even before that. He assured Billy he would call a council meeting and let the others know what had happened. He agreed that Jacob's retribution on Edward was justified in light of the threat that Edward Cullen had posed to both mother and child. He promised that Jacob and the pack had his and the others full support.

Billy rolled his chair into the house, heading straight for the kitchen. He was bone tired. It had been a long day. Jacob must be still asleep; his son had been so exhausted after the long stressful flight home and the fight he had the previous night. Billy opened the fridge and pulled out a cold beer, he felt he deserved at least one after everything that had happened. Before he could even take a sip, the sound of a car pulling up outside made him grimace.

"Who is it now?" He muttered. Billy went over to the window and peered out. He was astonished to see the police cruiser parked up outside. A grim faced Charlie got out, followed by Bella, who was carrying Ethan in her arms. Bella looked distraught, her eyes were red and sore as if she had been weeping. Lastly Renee got out of the back of the car, she too was red faced, but she looked angry rather then upset like Bella. "What the hell has happened now?"

Charlie marched straight up to the door and knocked loudly. Billy cursed under his breath, the noise was certain to wake Jacob. He quickly rolled his chair down the hall and opened the door. "Chief?" He said in greeting.

"We need to talk." Charlie snapped as he walked straight in, followed by Bella and Renee.

As they all gathered in the living room, Jacob came out of his room to investigate what all the fuss was about. His tired eyes widened when he saw Bella and Ethan. He could see she had been crying. "Bells, what's happened?" He quickly approached her and put his strong arms around her. Bella gratefully rested her head on his chest.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered.

"For what?" Jacob felt totally bewildered. His eyes traveled to Charlie, who was still glaring at Billy.

"Mom told dad." Bella revealed.

Jacob's heart stuttered in his chest. He stared at Renee in shock.

Bella's mother shrank back as she saw him looking. "I had no choice." She tried to defend herself.

"Shut the fuck up, Ren." Charlie roared at her.

"You can't speak to me like that." Renee's voice quavered.

"I can and I will." Charlie was beyond angry. "I should have done it years ago. Now go back outside and wait in the car."

"No, I..." Renee began to protest.

"I said go." Charlie ordered her.

Renee burst into floods of tears. She flashed Charlie a hurt look before finally complying with his request. She fled the house, slamming the door after her.

"Dad..." Bella whispered his name.

Charlie's face softened as he looked at his distraught daughter. "Why don't you and Jake take Ethan out for some fresh air?" He suggested, his tone lighter.

"But I need to explain." Bella protested.

Charlie shook his head. "No you don't." His expression hardened again as he glared at his oldest friend. "There is only one person here who needs to explain himself."

Billy looked back at him steadily. "Your father is right." He told Bella. "This is between us."

"Are you sure about this dad?" Jacob checked.

"Yes." Billy didn't take his eyes away from Charlie's. "Go now."

Jacob nodded at his dad. He put his arm around Bella and gently guided her from the house. "We'll go visit Sue and Leah." He told the two men. "Call us when you're done."

Billy nodded. "Yes."

Bella gave her dad one last desperate glance as she allowed Jacob to steer her outside. When they were gone, Charlie approached Billy and stood over him. "Now tell me why the hell you have lied to me for the last few years, Billy Black?" He seethed.

_**A/N-thanks for reading!**_


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